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N.Y. man charged with killing two women 20 years ago

MANORVILLE, N.Y. - John Bittrolff, a New York man, was arrested Monday in connection with the murders of two women on Long Island dating back over 20 years, reports CBS New York.

Bittrolff, 48, was arrested by Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives around 6:30 a.m. Monday, according to the station. The Manorville, Long Island resident is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 31-year-old Rita Tangredi and 20-year-old Colleen McNamee.

Police said Tangredi's naked body was found on Nov. 2, 1993, in a wooded area in East Patchogue, N.Y., part of Suffolk County. She had reportedly been beaten and strangled. Authorities said she had been seen hitchhiking the night before nearby where her body was discovered.

The station reports McNamee's body was found in the woods on Jan. 30, 1994, near the William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, N.Y. This location is also in Suffolk County. She, too, was found naked and had been beaten and strangled, according to police. In a bulletin archived by Newsday, police said the victim was last seen getting into a small blue car outside a diner in the area.

Both victims had previously been arrested for prostitution, according to the archived release.

CBS New York reports detectives at the original crime scenes linked the case using DNA evidence and were finally able to trace them to Bittrolff 20 years later. A motive for the crime was not released.

Anyone with information about Bittrolff, Trangredi or McNamee - especially regarding their activities in the early 1990s - is asked to call the Suffolk County Homicide Squad at (631) 852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 220-TIPS.

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