New charges for alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer cast scrutiny on another man’s murder conviction

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — New charges brought against the man accused of a string of killings on New York’s Long Island are raising questions about another man’s murder conviction. Prosecutors said Thursday that Rex Heuermann was responsible for the death of Sandra Costilla in 1993. For years prosecutors believed that Costilla’s death may have been linked to the killings of two other young women who disappeared around the same time and were found in similar positions. John Bittrolff was convicted in 2017 of killing those two women. His lawyers say the new indictment against Heuermann casts further doubt on their client’s guilt and are asking for prosecutors to reopen the case.