Suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann is not connected by DNA to a murder for which another man was convicted, authorities said.
Heuermann’s DNA was compared to unknown male DNA found at the 1994 murder scene of Colleen McNamee, whose body had been found in Shirley, and found not to be a match, thus excluding Heuermann as a suspect. John Bittrolff, 59, of Manorville, was arrested in 2014 and charged with the cold case murder of McNamee as well as the 1993 murder of Rita Tangredi, whose body had been found in East Patchogue. His DNA had been found at both crime scenes.
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“A comparison between Cybergenetic’s developed profile, ‘unknown male A’ and the DNA profile of Rex Heuermann was performed,” a release from the Suffolk County Chief Medical Examiner reads. “Assuming that the ‘unknown male A’ profile is a mixture without any allelic dropout and strictly based on possible genotypes present as listed in the profile, Rex Heuermann is excluded as ‘unknown male A.'”
At the time of his arrest, Bittrolff was thought to be a suspect in the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla as well, whose body had been found in North Sea. Prosecutors at the time also believe he may have been connected to the Gilgo Beach murders.
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However, no links in either case were proven, and Heuermann, 62, of Massapequa Park, was arrested in July of 2023 in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders. Nearly a year later, in June of 2024, a superseding indictment charged him with the murder of Sandra Costilla, thus removing Bittrolff as a suspect.
Bittrolff sought exoneration for the murders of Tangredi and McNamee, represented by Suffolk County Legal Aid Society lawyer Lisa Marcoccia. Marcoccia argued to Judge Richard Ambro that the cases were similar to Costilla’s and as a result, Heuermann should be looked at as a potential suspect.
Unknown male DNA had been recovered on a pair of jeans near Colleen McNamee’s body. In October, Ambro ruled that Heuermann’s DNA could be compared to that DNA, culminating in the ruling excluding Heuermann.
In addition to Costilla, Rex Heuermann remains charged with the murders of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is due back in court in January.
