The woods where Sandra Costilla was found murdered

On November 21st, 1993, two hunters discovered the body of Sandra Costilla 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. Her striped shirt had been pulled up over her head, and she had suffered "numerous sharp force injuries" to her body.

At the time, the police stated that she "might have been raped."

Costilla is believed to be the first known victim of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.

Her remains were lying in the woods for several days before they were discovered. The authorities identified her using her fingerprints, which had been entered into the system after she was arrested for jumping over a subway turnstile in 1992.

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.

Initially, Costilla's murder was believed to be linked to the killings of two sex workers named Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. Although she had no arrests for working in the sex trade, the police stated that she lived a lifestyle that was "substantially similar" and that there was anecdotal evidence that she had been working the streets.

In 2014, Manorville resident John Bittrolff was charged with killing Tangredi and McNamee. Shortly afterwards, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said that the authorities were investigating whether Bittrolff was also involved in Costilla's murder.

Bittrolff was later excluded after a forensics lab determined that a strand of male hair on the victim did not match his DNA profile.

In April 2024, the police conducted a number of searches around Manorville on Long Island. They also searched the woods where Costilla had been found.

On June 6th, 2024, Heuermann was indicted for the murders of Costilla and a Gilgo Beach victim named Jessica Taylor.

Heuermann was connected to the crime by the male hair that had been found on her shirt. A strand of female hair on the victim's right arm also proved to be a DNA match with a woman who had previously lived with him before the murder.

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 was 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.

Despite Spota's comments, Bittrolff was never charged with the crime.

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.

Sandra Costilla

This is a digitally enhanced image of Sandra Costilla.