UPDATE: Suspect In Water Mill Murder Committed Suicide in Pennsylvania Police Say

A 33-year-old Brooklyn woman was found murdered in a guest room at a high-end spa and wellness resort in Water Mill this week, and police say that the Pennsylvania man suspected of having killed her apparently committed suicide after fleeing the scene.

The body of Sabina Rosas, 33, was discovered shortly after noon on Monday, October 28, by housekeeping staff at the Shou Sugi Ban House, a luxury spa and hotel shrouded behind a lush greenery and a gated entrance off Montauk Highway, just east of the Parrish Art Museum. A large stone Buddha greets visitors at the front entrance.

But on Monday morning, it was only Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives who were passing beneath the Buddha’s gaze.

Police say they were called at about 12:30 p.m. by staff at the hotel who reported having found Rosas’s bloodied body in the room she had checked into that weekend with a man. The man had departed alone in a taxi early that morning, however, several hours before a housekeeper discovered the body. The taxi took him to a residence in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

Police had apparently rather quickly identified the man by name, but only after Pennsylvania police attempted to locate him at his home on Tuesday did they discover him dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Suffolk County Police announced his death on Wednesday morning, October 30, and described him as a suspect in the murder.

They identified him as Thomas Gannon, 56, of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. They have not said what his relationship to Rosas was.

They have also not said how she is believed to have been killed, only that she was apparently “a victim of violence” and that the cause of death would be determined by the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office after an autopsy.

Gannon and Rosas had checked into the Shou Sugi Ban House together, a police source confirmed.

Shou Sugi Ban opened in 2019, offering guest rooms, a full residence, an extensive list of spa and wellness treatments and a restaurant using only seasonal, organic produce. Guest room rates even in the offseason start at more than $1,000 per night, and spa treatments run from $250 to $450 an hour.

The spa has not responded to requests for comment about the incident.

Rosas, according to a biography on the website of an nonprofit artists collective she was a member of, is originally from Tajikistan and moved to the United States when she was 17. She also went by the name Sabina Khorramdel.

“We are devastated by this senseless loss,” a family member told the New York City news network NBC4 on Tuesday.

A Central Asian artists group called the Ruyo Journal said in an Instagram post on Tuesday that Sabina Khorramdel was one of its founders and mourned her death.

“We are deeply heartbroken to share that our dear colleague and founder of RUYO Journal, Sabina Khorramdel, has left this world,” the group said. “Driven by her incredible energy and vision, Sabina moved walls so that gardens could flourish, inviting everyone seeking light. She shared everything she had and supported all of us. A beautiful soul and a gifted artist, she left an impactful legacy in the arts of Central Asia. The world feels empty without her. We love you, Sabina. Rest in peace.”

Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the crime call detectives in the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential, police said.