In a recent development regarding the case of John Bittrolff, a man convicted for two murders in the early 1990s, is seeking a review of his conviction after the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann, was charged with an “eerily similar” homicide during the same period. According to a report by Newsday, Bittrolff was convicted for the 1993 murder of Rita Tangredi and the 1994 killing of Colleen McNamee. He is now pushing for exoneration after Heuermann was indicted in the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla, a crime Bittrolff was previously suspected of committing.
Bittrolff’s attorney, Lisa Marcoccia, described the crime scenes of all three murders as “eerily similar” and requested that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office conduct DNA testing on hairs found at the Tangredi and McNamee crime scenes. She also asked for the release of forensic evidence from the Costilla crime scene.
Marcoccia noted that all three women were killed within the same time frame, found in a wooded area, with their legs spread apart and hands above their heads. Both Colleen McNamee and Sandra Costilla had their shirts pulled up over their faces, and all three bodies reportedly had wood chips on them, leading to the belief that one person was responsible for all three murders.
District Attorney Ray Tierney, who was not in office when Bittrolff was charged and convicted, denied Marcoccia’s requests for DNA testing and the release of forensic evidence from the Costilla crime scene. Suffolk County investigators had previously stated that they believed the person responsible for the deaths of Tangredi and McNamee was also responsible for the murder of Costilla.
Marcoccia sent a letter to Tierney on June 6, the day Heuermann pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge in Costilla’s death, requesting records related to the Costilla case, including any forensic analysis conducted at the crime scene and all information obtained through devices relevant to all three murders. In her letter, Marcoccia stated that “the goal of the District Attorney’s Office is not to win cases, but to seek justice.
Despite two unsuccessful attempts to overturn Bittrolff’s conviction, Marcoccia continues to believe that further DNA testing could assist in his appeal. Heuermann was arrested on July 13, 2023, for the murders of three women and was charged with the murders of three other women over the year. His murder trial is expected to begin in Suffolk County Supreme Court in September.
