Where is John Bittrolff now? Meet the suspected Long Island serial killer convicted for killing two women
Lifetime has come out with a new movie based on the Long Island Serial Killer case, titled ‘The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice’, which explores the case and chronicles the journey of a mother who fights the system to get justice. One of the most intriguing characters in the movie was John Bittrolff, a carpenter who was arrested for the murder of two women and was later linked to the killings that happened in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island.
Let’s take a look at Bittrolff’s character in real-life and why he was linked to the case. The Long Island serial killings is one of the most bizarre cases in the history of the United States. More than 17 women, mostly prostitutes, were brutally killed by an unidentified man in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island. However, the case became really complex when John Bittrolf was taken into custody for murdering two women in the 1990s.
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Apart from that, Biltroff was also a suspect in the Long Island Serial Killer case. In 2014, he was charged with the murders of Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. He is also a suspect in the murder of a third woman, Sandra Costilla.
The arrest happened after John’s brother Timothy Bittrolff was partially matched to DNA found on the bodies in 2013. Timothy had to submit his sample after violating an unrelated order of protection in the same year. John’s DNA was matched to the DNA found on the bodies and was arrested for the murders of Tangredi and McNamee. The remains of two of the official Long Island killer victims were discovered very close to Bittrolff's home. However, it was widely reported that he was also responsible for at least one of the brutal killings of women that happened in the Long Island area.
Three years after his arrest, in 2017, Bittrolff was convicted of murdering Tangredi and McNamee in the '90s. The resident of Manorville was sentenced to consecutive 25 years-to-life sentences for the deaths of the two prostitutes. The Suffolk County police rejected to comment on the prosecution, however, Bittrolff’s attorney rejected the prosecutor’s assertion.
After the verdict, Bittrolff’s lawyer, Jonathan Manley, said that his connection to the Gilgo Beach killings is absolutely baseless and was never brought to anyone’s notice throughout the trial. Manley said: “This was never mentioned before. This is a serious accusation with absolutely no factual basis. Mr. Bittrolff maintains his innocence in the deaths of Ms. Tangredi and Ms. McNamee and any insinuation that he had anything to do with the Gilgo killings is laughable and meant simply to attract headlines.”
Since then, there have been doubts if he was indeed the Long Island Serial Killer or he was just a pawn used to close the case.
Where is John Bittrolff now?
After being found guilty of the murders of two women, Bittrolf was sent to Downstate Correctional Facility. He is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence for the murders. As for the Long Island Serial Killer case, Bittrolff has pleaded not guilty.
The Long Island Serial Killer is still unsolved and the identity of the killer is still a mystery.