On Valentine’s Day last year, Andrew Avila strangled 39-year-old Rebecca Carlson to death and left her body beside a dumpster behind an auto parts store in South Hempstead. On Tuesday, April 8th, Avila, 26, pled guilty to the crime in court and is charged with manslaughter in the first degree, a B violent felony.
Avila is due back in court on June 3rd where he is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly described the crime in a statement.
“Andrew Avila met with Rebecca Carlson in his car in the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day for a sex act. When the victim refused his demands for more, he strangled her and discarded her body next to a trash bin,” said Donnelly. “Carlson was a mother who had tragically fallen on difficult times and met a cruel end because of this defendant’s violent outburst.”
According to the investigation, Avila met with Carlson in the early morning hours of February 14, 2023 in his vehicle in Mineola. Avila had contacted the victim through a website, and they agreed to meet in person to perform a sex act. The defendant and the victim got into an argument that became physical and Avila strangled Carlson to death. Avila then disposed of the victim’s body next to a dumpster behind an Advanced Auto Parts retail store at 1146 Grand Avenue in South Hempstead.
Carlson’s body was discovered later that morning by a store employee.
Avila was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on March 2, 2023, in Hewlett.
