Long Island police have arrested the man they believe is responsible for murdering a 39-year-old mother he met online and then dumping her naked body next to a dumpster on Valentine's Day.
Andrew Avila met Rebecca Carlson through a dark web website, where users exchange money for sex, Nassau County Police said. The two had met months before, and police said that Carlson had been known to struggle with drug addiction and was resorting to prostitution.
"Here’s a girl who had a family, has children. Got into controlled substance abuse. She had an addiction," said Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Homicide Squad. "She had to supplement that problem and would resort to this type of behavior. Unfortunately, she ran into the wrong person."
In the early hours of Valentine’s Day, police said Avila picked Carlson up in his car. The two ended up behind a business in Mineola when an argument broke out, according to investigators.
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"He pushed it a little further, when she objected and wanted more money. And he didn’t have any more money, they became physical," said Fitzpatrick.
Police said Avia strangled Carlson, then drove to the back of the Advanced Auto Parts store in South Hempstead and dumped her naked body there.
From there, police said Avila went about his daily routine, going home and then to work. Detectives used surveillance cameras and license plate readers to track him down, arresting him on Thursday. His next-door neighbor says the Avila family – which includes Avila’s mother and his younger brother — moved to Elmont 4 months ago.
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The 25-year-old Avila did not have a criminal record, but is now charged with murder in the second degree – leaving not only the victim's family heartbroken, but also his own family devastated.
"I don’t know what to do, I’m only 18. I’m trying to get through life," Avila's brother said amid tears on Friday.
Police are looking into Avila’s digital history, trying to see whether he’s attacked other women he’s met online in the past.
"She's a mom, she had a family. She mattered," Fitzpatrick said of Carlson.
