An Elmont man pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges for strangling a woman to death and leaving her body beside a dumpster behind an auto parts store in South Hempstead on Valentine’s Day last year.
Andrew Avila, 26, pleaded guilty on April 2 before Judge Caryn Fink to first-degree manslaughter (a B violent felony).
In the early morning hours of February 14, 2023, Avila met with 39-year-old Rebecca Carlson 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.
They got into an argument that became physical and Avila strangled Carlson to death. Avila then disposed of her 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. He is due back in court on June 3, 2024, where he is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
“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 Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “Carlson was a mother who had tragically fallen on difficult times and met a cruel end because of this defendant’s violent outburst. Her family remains in our thoughts.”