Fears are mounting that a serial killer is stalking quaint New England towns after the remains of three women were found in the span of six weeks.
Residents across
Connecticut
,
Massachusetts
and
Rhode Island
are on high alert following the discoveries.
On March 6, the remains of 35-year-old Paige Fannon of West Islip, New York, turned up in New Haven. Her body had been found in a fast-moving Norwalk River the night after a heavy deluge.
Then on March 21, police found another set of human remains, later confirmed to be that of missing 59-year-old mother-of-two Denise Leary.
On March 25, Rhode Island State Police found another set of remains in a wooded area of Foster, which were later identified as missing 56-year-old Michele Romano.
Several other sets of unidentified remains have also been located in New England towns during a similar time period.
And despite mounting speculation and theories these deaths may be linked, authorities have insisted there is no evidence suggesting it is the work of a serial killer.
‘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,’ Connecticut State Police said.
This hasn’t prevented residents from speculating on social media, with the inception of a Facebook group titled New England Serial Killer.
The group has amassed 57,000 members in just a few weeks and is alight with theories about potential victims, suspects and hunting grounds.
And authorities’ insistence that these disappearances and deaths likely aren’t the work of a serial killer has only spurred armchair detectives on even further, prompting some of them to question if cops are turning a blind eye or failing to cooperate with their interstate counterparts.
New Haven police officer Christian Bruckhart told
MassLive
that he understands the ‘mystique’ and speculation surrounding a potential local serial killer.
‘There’s certain things that have a mystique about them, and I think serial killers are one… A serial killer is this almost mythical figure in the zeitgeist — I mean, how many Hannibal Lecter movies have been done?’ he said.
He is part of the team investigating Denise Leary’s death, and said that the evidence so far does not suggest she died by homicide.
‘They’re out there, we know that they exist,’ he said, generally speaking about serial killers.
‘But I can only speak to my department’s investigation, in the missing person case, that there’s no indication there was any homicide.’
Separately, authorities have also pointed out that while the remains have been discovered during a specific time period, they didn’t all go missing at the same time.
Paige Fannon, whose body was the first to be found and identified, disappeared on March 4, just two days before she was found.
Meanwhile 56-year-old Romano disappeared on August 18, 2024, and Leary just a month later on September 29.
Romano’s family issued a statement on Tuesday to confirm that they do not believe her death is the work of a serial killer.
‘Michele’s passing is in no way related to any type of serial killer,’ the family said in a statement.
‘We have complete faith in the Rhode Island State Police and our Private Investigator that the person responsible will be brought to justice sooner rather than later.’
In addition to the three identified sets of remains, police in Groton Connecticut on March 19 uncovered the remains of a woman they believe to be aged between 40 to 60.
They said the woman appeared to have lightly pigmented skin, and features typically associated with a person with Turner syndrome.
On April 9, another set of possible human remains were discovered in Killingly. Police did not reveal the identity of the remains but said there is no known threat to the public relating to the discovery.
The next day, firefighters in Massachusetts discovered more remains in Framingham. The decomposition of the remains suggested they had been there for at least several months.
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