John Bittrolff
John Bittrolff | |
|---|---|
Suffolk Co. Police Dept. 2014 mugshot
| |
| Born |
July 1, 1966
New York, U.S.
|
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | Second degree murder (2 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | 50 years to life in prison |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2 confirmed, 1 more suspected |
Span of crimes |
1993–1994 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | New York |
Date apprehended |
July 21, 2014 |
| Imprisoned at | Clinton Correctional Facility |
John Bittrolff (born July 1, 1966) is an American convicted murderer and former suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case. In July 2014, he was charged with the murders of Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. He is also a suspect in the murder of a third woman, Sandra Costilla. Bittrolff became a suspect in the unsolved murders after his brother, Timothy Bittrolff, was partially matched to DNA found on the bodies in 2013. Timothy Bittrolff submitted the sample after violating an unrelated order of protection, in 2013.
On July 5, 2017, Bittrolff was found guilty of the second degree murders of Tangredi and McNamee. He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison on September 12, 2017. He is imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility. His department identification number is 17A3925.
Victims
Bittrolff was convicted of killing two women and is a suspect in the death of a third.
Rita Tangredi
Tangredi was found dead on November 2, 1993 in Suffolk County, New York. Tangredi lived in East Patchogue and was known by police to be a sex worker.
Colleen McNamee
McNamee's body was found on January 30, 1994 in Shirley, New York, also in Suffolk County. Believed by authorities to be a sex worker, she was beaten, strangled to death and left naked in the woods, near the William Floyd Parkway.
Sandra Costilla
Costilla's body was found on November 20, 1993 in North Sea, New York.
Former suspect in Long Island serial killings
After Bittrolff's sentence, the case's prosecutor announced that Bittrolff was also a suspect in at least one of the 10 murders attributed to the Long Island serial killer in New York's Suffolk and Nassau counties. Suffolk County District Attorney's office prosecutor Robert Biancavilla released a statement noting that Bittrolff was likely responsible for the deaths of other women, and that, "There are remains of the victims at Gilgo that may be attributed to the handiwork of Mr. Bittrolff, and that investigation is continuing".
Bittrolff was a carpenter who lived in Manorville, where the torsos of Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack were recovered. The remains were discovered roughly three miles away from Bittrolff's home. He also reportedly once "cut out the heart of a deer he had just shot and ate it raw in the woods."
The adult daughter of Bittrolff victim Rita Tangredi was reportedly "best friends" with Melissa Barthelemy, one of the first victims discovered at Gilgo Beach. Barthelemy's mother also reported that Melissa "had a lot of calls to Manorville from her phone" at the time.
On July 13, 2023, another man, Rex Heuermann, a long-time resident of Massapequa Park on Long Island, was arrested and subsequently charged with three murders attributed to the Long Island serial killer, including for the murder of Melissa Barthelemy.