A Long Island man convicted of two murders in the early 1990s is seeking a retrial of the case after alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heurman was charged with an “eerily similar” murder from the same period, according to reports.
John Bittrollf, convicted of the 1993 murders of Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee in 1994, is currently seeking acquittal after Heuerman was charged with the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla, a murder Heuerman had long been suspected of committing.
Bittrollf's attorney, Lisa Marcoccia, said the scenes of the three murders are “eerily similar” and has asked the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office to conduct DNA testing on hairs found at the Tangredi and McNamee crime scenes. This was revealed in the letter obtained by Newsday. She also called on police to release forensic evidence from the Costilla crime scene.
“Sandra, Rita and Colleen were all killed around the same time. They were found in the woods with their legs splayed, their arms above their heads and one of their shoes missing,” Marcoccia told Newsday.
“Colleen and Sandra both had their shirts pulled up over their faces and the prosecutor [office] He claims there were pieces of wood on all three bodies… any logical person would say. [would believe] All three murders involved one perpetrator.”
District Attorney Ray Tierney, who was not in office at the time Bittrollf was charged and convicted, denied Marcoccia's request.
“I've seen those cases,” Tierney told the outlet, “and if I think there's a problem, I'll do something about it.”
Even before Bittrolff's arrest in 2014, Suffolk County investigators had long said publicly that they believed the man responsible for Tangredi and McNamee's deaths was also responsible for Costilla's murder.
Marcoccia, who previously filed two unsuccessful motions to overturn Bittrolff's conviction, sent the letter to Tierney on June 6, the day Heuerman pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge in Costilla's death.
According to the outlet, in her letter she asked prosecutors to turn over Heuerman's records related to the Costilla case, including any forensic analysis performed at Costilla's crime scene and any information obtained through equipment connected to all three murders.
“The District Attorney's Office's goal is not to win cases, but to pursue justice,” Marcoccia wrote in the letter.
After receiving no response, she submitted a second request letter to prosecutors on June 18, but it was rejected two days later by Assistant District Attorney Guy Arcidiacono, who said there was “no legal or factual basis for providing these documents.”
“As you are aware, Rex Heurman has been indicted for the Costilla murder,” Arcidiacono said in the letter obtained by Newsday.
“Whether or not your client was investigated for the Costilla murder, it is clear that he was not charged in that case. Neither the fact that he was not charged nor the fact that Mr. Heuermann was charged exonerates Bittrolff from a murder conviction.”
Officials said 61-year-old Heuerman was linked to Costilla through mitochondrial DNA testing of hair found at the crime scene, while Bittrolff was linked to both Tangredi and McNamee through DNA testing of semen found in their bodies.
Heuerman was arrested on July 13, 2023, for the brutal murders of three women and was indicted on charges of the murders of three more women during the year.
His murder trial is scheduled to begin in September in Suffolk County Superior Court.
Meanwhile, Marcoccia believes further testing of DNA evidence could help Bittrolf's appeal.
“Unidentified hairs that have never been tested before were found on Rita and Colleen's bodies,” Marcoccia said, according to the media.
