November 12, 2024
The body of a victim, who was found dead at Shou Sugi Ban House on Montauk Highway in Watermill, NY late last month, has been identified as 33-year-old Sabina Rosas, an artist from Brooklyn.
Her body was discovered by a member of staff on Monday, October 28, 2024, inside a room of the up-scale resort, which offers wellness courses and hosts the likes of celebrity guests, such as Gwyneth Paltrow.
Southampton Town Police patrol units were quick to respond to the scene of the murder, arriving at Shou Sugi Ban House at approximately 12:30pm.
The Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad later described Rosas as "a victim of violence."
Officers determined that whoever had murdered the Brooklyn artist was "not an immediate danger to others," as the attack against the young woman appeared to be targeted. They considered it an isolated incident and did not believe the killer to be an imminent threat to members of the public.
A couple staying at the Shou Sugi Ben House can expect to pay around $1,224 per night and studio rooms are charged at rates of $850.
Rosas was born in Tajikistan in August 1991.
She moved to the USA when she was seventeen and attended The State University of New York at Purchase where she received a bachelors in New Media, and became an artist.
Although apparently married in her younger years, Rosas and her husband were estranged from one another.
Police traced the murder back to a suspect, Thomas Gannon, 56. Rosas and Gannon were connected, but media outlets, initially, did not know how.
It appeared he had taken an Uber from the crime scene to his home in Pennsylvania.
Friends said Rosas met Gannon around two years before she was murdered. They described him as an "enthusiastic investor" of her career, and said that Gannon invested money into her projects and art-related global travel.
She had been working on an art book focusing on Central Asian art titled: Ruyó Journal.
In a recent news segment for Eyewitness News ABC7NY, a man who says he is the fiancé and long-time friend of the victim offered more information about her alleged killer. Ryder Iwata explained that Gannon and the victim had recently been in Dubai together, and that Gannon had accompanied her to various countries around the world for art-related endeavours.
He is seen in multiple pictures with the slain artist, posing with her at her exhibitions, and taking a selfie together with Rosas and her art teacher.
The victim's art professor, Elizabeth Phillips, told CBS New York that Gannon had actually been to her house on two occasions, to have dinner along with herself and Rosas. She described Gannon as always wanting to be with Rosas, wanting to "help" her and invest money into her. When she was asked how she felt about Gannon, she responded: "Oh, we both had the creeps."
Rosas never introduced Gannon as any kind of love interest.
Rosas used the name Sabina Khorramdel as her artist name. Her website states that she was a sound-focused artist who tunes herself to the sound of the environment and created "blind" drawings by intuition for a free-flowing result devoid of over-analytical thinking. She translated her subconscious, as well as her dreams, into tangible artworks.
Despite their closeness, Rosas had a fiancé, and it has been said that her friends felt Gannon was “aggressive” and urged her to "get rid of him." They worried about Rosas safety because they believed Gannon was infatuated with her, and worried he was angry that she was not romantically interested in him.
Thomas Gannon appeared in the comment section of a GoFundMe Rosas had started titled: "Support My Artistic Journey: A Birthday Gift."
She aimed to raise $3000 to attend an art residency in Portugal for her 33rd birthday, writing: "can't help but chuckle at the fact that 33 is often associated with the age of Jesus when he made his ultimate sacrifice. While I’m not planning anything dramatic, I see this year as a turning point in my life."
She also mentioned dreams she had been having which she interpreted as "a sign that I’m about to birth something new and meaningful into the world."
Gannon appears in the comments; having donated $1000 to the GoFundMe, he left a message that read: “You have an amazing gift and soon all the world will see. I love you❤️"
"It's a murder out of passion, because this person who took her life didn’t want to share her with anybody,” Ryder Iwata told CBS New York.
Gannon died by suicide in his Honesdale, Pennsylvania, home.
He was officially pronounced dead at 11:12pm. The suspect allegedly confessed to killing Sabina Rosas in a text message that he sent to a family member before committing suicide.
Law and Crime reported that Sabina Rosas appeared in a mug shot taken in Miami in March 2023, disturbingly Rosas has a swollen black eye. Reports state that she was charged with battery. It is unclear what the events behind the arrest are and if Gannon was even involved.
In a statement about their loss, the artists family said:
"As the eldest of three daughters, Sabina brought excitement, adventure, joy and love to our family," the statement read. "We are devastated by this senseless loss and ask for privacy as we navigate this incredibly difficult time."
Her friends described her as an amazing and underrated artist.
The victim’s family reside in Tajikistan and are waiting for the autopsy to be completed before they fly her remains back to her homeland.
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