Long Island man who killed woman during Valentine’s Day rendezvous gets prison: DA

SOUTH HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (PIX11) – A Long Island man who strangled a woman to death after a rendezvous on Valentine’s Day last year that “didn’t end the way he wanted” was sentenced to prison on Thursday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Andrew Avila, 26, of Elmont, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing 39-year-old Rebecca Carlson and leaving her body behind an Advanced Auto Parts store in South Hempstead on Feb. 14, 2023, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Avila met with Carlson in his vehicle in Mineola to engage in a sex act in the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day, authorities said. However, the two got into an argument and Avila strangled Carlson to death, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Avila then put Carlson’s body next to a dumpster behind the Advanced Auto Parts store at 1146 Grand Ave. in South Hempstead, authorities said.

“Andrew Avila brutally strangled Rebecca Carlson to death in his car after a Valentine’s Day tryst that didn’t end the way he wanted,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Without a care for the life he extinguished, the defendant dumped Rebecca’s body behind a local storefront with the trash and drove off.”

Carlson’s body was later found by a store employee, authorities said. Avila was arrested just over two weeks later.

Avila pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in April, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

“Avila will now spend more than two decades of his young life behind bars for his callous violence. Our thoughts remain with Rebecca’s family as her killer is brought to justice,” Donnelly said.

Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here .

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