The woods where Sandra Costilla was found murdered
Crime Scene Location in Southampton, New York
On November 21st, 1993, two hunters discovered Sandra Costilla's body at this location in North Sea, Southampton.
The 28-year-old had been strangled to death and left partially clothed in these residential woods near Fish Cove.
At the time, the police stated that the victim "might have been raped."
Costilla's remains were lying in the woods for several days before they were discovered. The authorities were able to identify them using her fingerprints.
In 1992, she was arrested for jumping over a subway turnstile. As a result, the police had a record of her fingerprints on file.
Costilla's last known address was on Gates Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens. However, it is believed that she wasn't living there at the time of her death.
The police said that she was a "drifter" who sometimes used the surname Cutello.
Costilla's murder is believed to be linked to the killings of two sex workers called Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. Although she had no arrests for prostitution, the police stated that she lived a lifestyle that was "substantially similar."
In 2017, Manorville resident John Bittrolff was convicted of killing Tangredi and McNamee. He is also believed to be the prime suspect in the murder of Costilla.
Sandra Costilla crime scene location
The address and the GPS coordinates for this location are as follows:
Address
50 Fish Cove Road, Southampton, New York, NY 11968, USA
GPS coordinates
The latitude and longitude coordinates for the site are:
40.935658, -72.407290
Directions
The woods lie to the east of Noyack Road in Southampton.
Photos
Photos of the site and other related images.
50 Fish Cove Road
This is an aerial image of 50 Fish Cove Road in Southampton.
We have highlighted the property boundaries in red.
Costilla's body was discovered by two hunters who were walking through the woods on this 7.22-acre lot.
John Bittrolff is the prime suspect in Costilla's murder
In July 2014, a local carpenter named John Bittrolff was charged with the murders of Colleen McNamee and Rita Tangredi. Three years later, he was found guilty of the crimes and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Following his arrest, Bittrolff was publicly named as the prime suspect in Costilla's murder.
Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said that Costilla's case was very similar to the killings of Tangredi and McNamee.
The three victims were small and slight, standing at around five feet tall. They were all strangled to death and then posed in similar ways in wooded areas.
Spota said that trace evidence found at Costilla's crime scene also pointed towards a connection. However, he did not provide any further details.
Newspaper clipping from 1994
Following McNamee's murder, the Suffolk County Police Department publicly admitted that there was a possible connection between the three crimes.
Sandra Cutello
This newspaper article was published in November 1993, shortly after Costilla was identified.
Suffolk homicide Detective Lieutenant John Gierasch said that she also went by the name Sandra Cutello.
Aerial image
This aerial image of the location was taken in 2013. The houses to the west did not exist at the time of the murder.
Sandra Costilla
This is a digitally enhanced image of Sandra Costilla.
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The site where Jessica Taylor was found
Roughly 25 miles away.
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The Manorville site where Valerie Mack was found
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John Bittrolff's childhood home
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The site where Colleen McNamee's body was discovered
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