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Topics: Connecticut, Crime, Police, US News
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Fears are mounting over the possibility of a serial killer on the loose across a tri-state area after several bodies were found close by in a matter of weeks.
Dozens of residents across New England are raising the alarm that there could be a murderer lurking somewhere in the region after the human remains or dead bodies of eight people were found across the three states, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, in the past few months.
Here's everything we know about the matter so far.
Throughout March and April, the human remains of eight bodies, believed to be mostly women, were found in four towns in Connecticut, (New Haven, Norwalk, Groton, and Killingly), Foster in Rhode Island and Framingham, Plymouth, and Springfield in Massachusetts.
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Not all of the bodies have been formally identified yet, and while many have been found in the two-month period, that fact does not indicate they died around the same time.
The body of a woman, identified as 35-year-old Paige Fannon, was found by a police scuba team on March 6 from the Norwalk River, the New Haven Register reported.
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Police were looking for Fannon, who was a resident of West Islip on Long Island, after she was reported missing in New York the day before her body was discovered.
Her clothes and personal items were also reportedly found on the riverbank.
On the same day Fannon was found, officers over in Plymouth were called out to reports of human remains found by a hunter in the woods.
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The hunter initially believed the bones were that of an animal before realizing and alerting the authorities, PEOPLE reports.
It was later determined the bone was the top half of a human skull with its jaw and nasal area missing.
The age, gender, and identity of the victim is yet to be confirmed.
Over in Groton, about 80 miles east of Norwalk in the state, police recovered a body from inside a suitcase near a cemetery on March 19, as per WTNH.
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The authorities believe the remains are of that of a woman between 40 to 60 years old.
On March 20, authorities in New Haven found the decomposed body of Denise Leary.
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Cops were called to block 100 of Rock Creek Road by residents who said they found human remains while clearing brush in a wooded area behind the house, a statement from New Haven Police said at the time.
They added the remains were 'in an advanced state of decay', but later confirmed it was the body of the 59-year-old.
Leary reportedly vanished in September and had a history of mental health issues and paranoid schizophrenia.
She was last seen at her home near Rock Creek Road, reported WFSB at the time.
The body of Michele Romano was found on March 26 in a wooded area off Plainfield Pike in Rhode Island, as per WJAR.
The mom-of-two reportedly vanished eight months prior and was reported missing by a concerned family member.
A resident, Tom Slater, told the news outlet how his dog may have found the remains earlier.
"I know my dog has been acting strange when he comes out here," he said. "He's always sniffing over that way. I don't know how long the body has been over there but he would pick up on it."
Romano's friend, John Michelotti, also called for justice to be served.
"She didn’t just die and end up in the woods," he said. "Someone has to be held accountable for what happened to her.”
Another investigation is currently underway over in Killingly after Connecticut State Police confirmed the discovery of human remains.
Cops are yet to determine the gender, age, and circumstances of death.
Then, most recently on Tuesday (April 22), a woman was found unresponsive off a bike path in Springfield at the 1500 block of Hall of Fame Avenue.
Officers and medical professionals declared the woman dead at the scene, Springfield Police Department spokesperson Ryan Walsh confirmed, with an autopsy yet to determine the cause of death.
Her death presents the eighth body to be discovered across the region in two months and the third within the state of Massachusetts.
Some fear the suspicious discoveries of the mostly female victims indicate a serial killer could be on the loose in the the neighboring states.
A Facebook group previously dubbed 'New England Serial Killer' started the speculation and had more than 65,000 members before its name had to be changed due to rules and regulations in place on the social media site.
Other groups have since cropped up in its wake, with one warning about 'sinister shadows lurking in the Southern New England tri-state area,' adding that the community is 'gripped by fear and uncertainty.'
Peter Valentin, chair of the Forensic Science Department at the University of New Haven, also highlighted to Fox News Digital that Springfield police have not revealed a cause of death for the Springfield woman, nor if her death was a homicide.
Valentin told the outlet: "I am curious about what was recovered around the body. There might have been paraphernalia suggestive of activity that is deemphasizing homicide (perhaps incorrectly) to the investigators because that article is quite tepid.
"It is filled with very cautious language (surely taken right from police press releases), which might be intentional to not feed into what is now turning into intense scrutiny over every suspicious death in New England."
He also said that police responding to reports of an unresponsive person is 'strongly suggestive of someone who did not have any post-mortem artifacts that would negate the need to check for vital signs needed to make a pronouncement'.
"If someone is in full rigor mortis, there is no need to try to find a pulse because the presence of rigor mortis means they are unequivocally dead. So this is a very recent death, unlike the others that are being attributed to the [New England] serial killer," he added.
Authorities have not revealed any connection between the deaths, with Walsh telling the outlet that 'internet rumors are just that'.
Connecticut State Police have also tried to squash rumors, saying 'there is no information at this time suggesting any connection to similar remains discoveries, and there is also no known threat to the public at this time.'