The Killer Carpenter of Manorville
Is Convicted Murderer and former Long Island Carpenter John Bittrolff the Long Island Serial Killer
By Shawn R. Dagle
In a wooded area just off the Long Island Expressway in late January of 1994 the nude body of 20-year-old Colleen McNamee was found naked, strangled and beaten in the head.
The second young woman to be found murdered in the woods of eastern Long Island in as many months, the first - 31-year-old Rita Tangredi - had been found that November partially buried under a pile of leaves in an abandoned housing project in the woods of East Patchogue - where prostitutes were known to bring their clients.
Tangredi was discovered by a passerby riding an all-terrain vehicle in the area. She was nude and had been strangled.
The two murders would go unsolved for another two decades until DNA would lead police to their killer.
A simple misdemeanor arrest and conviction for violating a protective order would result in the taking of a DNA sample that partially matched DNA obtained at the murders.
Police were able to rule out the arrestee who had provided the DNA sample but realized the genetic profile obtained from the scene must match one of the man’s close relatives. They began to focus on the man’s brother John Bittrolff.
Previously arrested for grand larceny in 1987 and assault in 1994, Bittrolff – a forty something year old carpenter who lived in Manorville with his wife and family – had managed to stay under the radar.
Following the partial DNA match with his brother investigators sifted through the trash outside Bittrolff’s home and were able to obtain a DNA sample from a plastic cup. It matched their suspect.
Police also took a subsequent DNA sample from a coffee cup Bittrolff had drank from during questioning. That matched as well.
In 2014 Bittrolff was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder for the killing of McNamee and Tangredi.
Three years later – in July of 2017 – he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive 25 year to life terms in prison.
Almost immediately speculation began as to whether Bittrolff might be responsible for more than the two murders he had been convicted of committing.
In addition to McNamee and Tangredi’s murders it has been reported that Bittrolff has also been investigated in connection to the murder of 28-year-old Queens resident Sandra Costilla who was discovered by a group of hunters strangled in the woods in North Sea, Long Island in November of 1993.
Unlike the other two victims Costilla – described as a drifter – had no record that would indicate that she had been involved in prostitution and she was not found nude – she was partially clothed. Bittrolff has never been charged in her murder.
Bittrolff’s residence Manorville raised alarms bells in connection to another higher profile set of murders on Long Island – the Long Island Serial Killer case.
When Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla stated publicly in 2017 that Bittrolff could potentially be responsible for at least one of the Long Island Serial Killer murders he only appeared to be lending further credence to what many had suspected all along.
Tangredi’s adult daughter is said to have been the best friend of Long Island Serial Killer victim Melissa Barthelemy and Barthelemy’s mother reportedly indicated that Melissa had received a lot of calls from Manorville around the time of her death.
While Bittrolff is certainly the most plausible of the Long Island Serial Killer suspects that have so far been speculated about in public that isn’t saying much. Most range from the ridiculous to the absurd including one poor man who had the misfortune to commit suicide around the time of the discovery of Shannan Gilbert’s remains and another busy body doctor foolish enough to inject himself into her disappearance when she was still missing on Oak Beach.
There does appear to be some circumstantial evidence connecting Bittrolff to the crimes on Long Island.
A more careful examination however reveals much more ambiguity than might be readily apparent at first blush.
Like some of the Long Island Serial Killer victims McNamee was found dismembered (her remains placed in a plastic garbage can) left in a wooded area south of the Long Island Expressway in North Shirley.
The day of her disappearance McNamee had left the South Shore Treatment Center where she was taking part in a drug rehabilitation program as an outpatient and was last seen climbing inside a small blue car near the diner before it drove east on the Veterans Memorial Highway.
A graduate of Sachem High School in 1991, McNamee was known to suffer from manic depression and was trying to turn her life around.
While it is true that the Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney has said that Bittrolff could be responsible for at least one of the Long Island Serial Killer murders it is not an opinion that has been shared by everyone in the Suffolk County DA’s office.
Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was quick to splash cold water on the theory.
“There’s no evidence or investigatory link between these murders. The manner in which these bodies were found is very unique and very different from the Gilgo crime scene,” he told the press.
In fact reports indicate that McNamee and Tangredi’s bodies were staged at their crime scenes by Bittrolff.
No evidence – at least so far – has been made public that would indicate the bodies of any of the Long Island Serial Killer victims were staged – a telling detail because often killers will stage the bodies of their victims to shock investigators or those who discover them (a compulsion that most likely would continue as the perpetrator continued to murder).
The claim that Tangredi’s daughter was best friends with Melissa Barthelemy – if even true – appears much less significant when you consider at the time of Tangredi’s murder Melissa would have been only eight years old.
The idea that Bittrolff would have met – let alone have known – the eight-year-old friend of one his victim’s daughters, remembered her 16 years later and/or just happened to come across her as an online escort seems somewhat implausible.
I also tried to pin down exactly when Bittrolff moved into his home in Manorville.
According to the documents I could find available online Bittrolff’s name first appears on the home’s property records in May of 2003 – well before the remains of Long Island Serial Killer victim Jessica Taylor’s were found in Manorville.
That date however is also well after the remains of victim Valerie Mack were found near the same location.
This is significant because if Bittrolff wasn’t living in Manorville at the time of Mack’s murder it would destroy one of the key pieces of circumstantial evidence that leads many to believe he is the Long Island Serial Killer.
It is important to note however that property records indicate that the woman identified in press reports as Bittrolff’s wife purchased the property in Manorville in 1997.
I could not find when the couple were married. So it is entirely possible that Bittrolff was living in the home prior to 2003 and his name simply wasn’t on the property records. It is also possible he was dating her at the time of Mack’s murder and was familiar with the area.
There also however is the question of why someone who would go to such great lengths to try and separate himself from his crimes like the Long Serial Killer did – including using a razor blade to destroy tattoos and to dismember and spread his victim’s body parts across Long Island – and then discard (if you believe Bittrolff is the Long Island Serial Killer) the remains of some of his victims just four miles - or less than a ten minute drive - from his home.
On the other hand it is also difficult to believe that if Bittrolff was guilty of killing McNamee, Tangredi and potentially Costilla he would then go another two decades without killing another woman.
That however does not mean Bittrolff is the Long Island Serial Killer.
At present there simply is not enough evidence to conclusively connect Bittrolff to any of the Long Island Serial Killer murders.
Perhaps in the future more evidence could surface. In the meantime speculation will persist regarding just how many other crimes Bittrolff may or may not be connected with including the Long Island Serial Killer case.
-September 5, 2022
Like What You’ve Read? Don’t Forget to Visit Our Website Coldconnecticut.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ColdConnecticut and Join Our ColdConnecticut Group Page on Facebook
Sources
The Citizen “Man Charged in 1990 Murders” AP July 29,2014
The Journal News “Prosecutor Says Murderer May Be Tied to More Slayings” Frank Eltman
The Citizen “Man Charged in 1990 Murders” AP July 29,2014
The Journal News “Prosecutor Says Murderer May Be Tied to More Slayings” Frank Eltman
The Journal News “Carpenter Found Guilty of 1990s Murders of Two Prostitutes” AP July 6, 2017
The Citizen “Man Charged in 1990 Murders” AP July 29,2014
Newsday “Parents Offer Reward for Capture of Killer” Stuart Vincent March 20, 1996
Newsday “Wanted” April 28, 1996
Newsday “Parents Offer Reward for Capture of Killer” Stuart Vincent March 20, 1996
Newsday “Wanted” April 28, 1996
Daily News “3 Slays Could be Work of One Killer” Helen Peterson May 28, 1994
Newsday “Parents Offer Reward for Capture of Killer” Stuart Vincent March 20, 1996
Newsday “Police ID Dead Woman” Ellen Yan November 22, 1993
Daily News “3 Slays Could be Work of One Killer” Helen Peterson May 28, 1994