An Elmont man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for strangling a woman to death on Valentine’s Day in 2023 and leaving her body behind an auto parts store.
In the early morning hours of February 14, 2023, Andrew Avila met with 39-year-old Rebecca Carlson in his vehicle in Mineola. Avila contacted Carlson and they agreed to meet in person to engage in a sexual act. They 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 the Advance Auto Parts retail store at 1146 Grand Avenue in South Hempstead.
Carlson’s body was discovered later that morning by a store employee.
Avila, 26, was arrested on March 2, 2023, in Hewlett. He pleaded guilty on April 2, 2024, before Judge Caryn Fink to first-degree manslaughter, a class B violent felony.
“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,” said Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly. “Without a care for the life he extinguished, the defendant dumped Rebecca’s body behind a local storefront with the trash and drove off. 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.”