Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - NEW ENGLAND SERIAL KILLER? GRIM DISCOVERIES FUEL SERIAL KILLER FEARS AFTER 8 BODIES FOUND IN WITHIN WEEKS

Episode Date: April 28, 2025

New Englanders remain on edge as reports of a possible serial killer on the loose provoke fear and rumors on social media. Since early March, the bodies of eight people — mostly women turn up in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Authorities can only identify half of the victims. All 8 victims bodies are in various stages of decomposition. Law enforcement across all three states continue to refute that the series of remains do not connect to a serial killer. Especially after police arrest a man on accusations he murders a woman whose body is found in a suitcase near a cemetery in Groton, Connecticut. Police imply the arrest dispels rumors about a serial killer in the area. Joining Nancy Grace today, Jason Oshins - New York Defense Attorney    Caryn Stark -  Forensic Psychologist, renowned TV and Radio trauma expert and consultant, www.carynstark.com, Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice  Brian Fitzgibbons - Director of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security,  website: www.uspasecurity.com, Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security  Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), NEW Podcast: "Mayhem in the Morgue" launching soon, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)  Jane Boroski - lone survivor of the Connecticut River Valley Serial Killer, Host of the podcast “Invisible Tears,” website: invisible-tears.com, Instagram and YouTube: @invisibletearspodcast   Germania Rodriguez - Germania Rodriguez, Chief US Reporter, DailyMail.com and host of Welcome to MAGAland podcast  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Is there a New England serial killer? In the last days, grim discoveries fueling serial killer fears, the body count rising. Eight bodies found in New England within just weeks. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Terror in New England as towns across Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are rocked by the

gruesome discovery of several sets of remains in various stages of decomposition. Residents fear a serial killer is on the loose, living amongst them. Joining us, an all-star panel, but straight out to the scene, standing by, Brian Fitzgibbons, Director of Operations, USPA, Nationwide Security, leading a team of investigators specializing in locating missing people at USPASecurity.com. Brian, thank you for being with us. Explain where you are and the significance. I'm right now in Plymouth, Massachusetts, just adjacent to a patch of woods

where just about a month ago, a human skull was discovered by a hunter who was walking a couple of deer paths looking for antlers. Less than three weeks ago, Massachusetts State Police and the Plymouth Police searched the woods after the skull was found. Notably, just the skull was found. Police have not identified the skull or any other remains in the area right now. Well, Brian Fitzgibbons, curious, you and I have investigated and covered and I prosecuted a lot of cases where only portions

of the body were found here, the skull. Now, very often when there is a densely wooded area like where you are right now in Plymouth, animal activity, in other words, animals tearing apart the body, will be responsible for a certain amount of disbursement. But Brian Fitzgibbons, if the disbursement was due to animal activity, you would expect to find other bones, maybe not all of them, maybe never all of them, but some of them within dragging distance. You would find a femur, a tibia, something, an arm, a leg, bone nearby within 30, 40 yards where the animal has dragged it off to eat it. So this tells me maybe human hands were involved in disposing of this body, Brian. Absolutely, Nancy.

And to paint a better picture for the audience, this patch of woods is relatively small. It's contained by a major highway and a couple of large residential neighborhoods. So access to this patch of woods is very limited. There's really only one secluded access point to it. The terrain is very difficult. So when you look at the map, it's up and downhill. It's full of briars, as you can see on the screen right now. So carrying a body into this area unseen would be very difficult. Okay. You just said something very, very important, Brian Fitzgibbons. Brian, on the scene near Plymouth, that means to me that someone that knew the area or had regular access to it is responsible for putting the skull there, if not the rest of the body.

Why? Because it is, as you said, cornered on all sides, residential highway. OK, what were you saying? You're exactly right, Nancy. You would have to know where this access point. It's by the underpass on Route 3. That's the one spot that you can get into the woods without having to go through a neighborhood that has $700,000 homes, ring cameras everywhere. You know, it'd be very difficult to get in there unseen. Hold on.

Hold on, Fitzgibbons. You just said it borders on Route 3. There's an overpass. What is Route 3? Is it heavily traveled? Does it go from where to where? Route 3, in that photo that went viral of the state police doing the search, Route 3 is a main thoroughfare between Boston and Cape Cod. So it's very heavily traveled all hours of the day. That's the main highway going through Plymouth. Well, okay. Brian Fitzgibbons, you just opened up the pool of suspects. I mean, it's like a volcano, what just spewed out of your mouth. Route three goes from Boston to Cape Cod. It's very heavily traveled, which means anybody driving by can look down and see that

patch of woods and think, wow, that's a great spot to hide a body. Um, very, very similar to the case of shall, uh, um, Shasta and Dillon Groney, where a truck driver drove by in Crudelaine. If you saw the aerial Brian, it's all green. Okay. So very rural. And he happens to see at a distance Shasta on an above ground pool. He lies in waits, kills the whole family and takes the two children. That's what happens. The perp sees something and suddenly they get an evil plan hatched in their head. Guys, tonight, fears of the New England serial killer, as he, and it's typically a man, is called, have been sparked.

Eight bodies found in recent weeks. Listen. The public is terrified. There's a serial killer on the loose in New England. In just two months, eight sets of remains have been discovered in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Only half of those victims have been identified. All of the bodies are in various stages of decomposition. One woman only deceased a few hours, while another discovery only included a jawless human skull. Okay, Brian Fitzgibbons,

that's the skull to which you are referring, the jawless human skull. And we're just showing video of that neighborhood. Let's see that again. You don't usually find a human skull behind a million dollar house. Okay, so this is what we're talking about. Brian, back to you. This is significant. Rarely in a neighborhood like this, do you find a dismembered body in your backyard? Yeah. So that woods is direct, maybe 150, 200 yards behind these houses that you're seeing here. And then it abuts on the other side of the woods, that major route three. Okay. So that's what you're dealing with. Now, when I searched the area yesterday and today, there were a few campsites that looked like abandoned, maybe homeless campsites or small party sites that teenagers had been at.

There's also a bike path that clearly had been ridden maybe by local area teens or kids. So that patch of woods is accessible. The terrain is difficult, but there has been some traffic through there. You know, there's another issue as I'm looking at that interstate footage. Jason Ocean is joining me, veteran trial lawyer joining us out of New York, but also practices in these jurisdictions. Jason, if, I mean, you and I both taken the Peter Pan bus from New York to Boston back and forth or the train. So if someone's driving along, I'm trying to get my head around where this particular body,

one of eight was disposed. When you're driving along, you can't just park on the interstate that you and I've traveled many, many times, get out of your car and drag a big plastic trash bag out to the woods. You have to look at a place where you can access it off the road and hide it without being caught or go there by foot. And that is what is interesting about what Fitzgibbons is saying. So somebody didn't just, they may have seen it from the interstate, this spot to hide a body, but they did not go to the spot, leaving the interstate on foot. You have to get out and go around and possibly even park in this neighborhood. But I guarantee you, one of these millionaires didn't throw a dead body or a skull practically in their own backyard. That did not happen. Now, it seems by description limited as to the type of animals that would be able to access across the road and grab that. So,

you know, the theory that it was done by human hands is quite plausible. And as you point out, someone must have surveyed this land because of its inaccessibility, because the houses, as we've seen, were bordered, and the highway. So someone took the time to purposely decide that this was a location for a deposit in that skull. You're right. You're right, Oceans. Guys, eight bodies discovered in the same region in a matter of weeks. Let's just start with 35-year-old Paige Fannin. Paige Fannin, 35, is reported missing March 4th after failing to open her West Islip Long Island hair salon

and not returning calls from family members. The next day, police get a tip that Paige may have been seen in Wilton, Connecticut near Schnecks Island. March 6th, Wilton PD teams up with Norwalk PD to search the area with drones. An officer spots clothes on the bank of the Norwalk River. Family members confirm the items belong to Paige. And then Paige's body found. Despite fast-moving water from heavy rainfalls, police and fire personnel search along the banks of the Norfolk River while a dive team searches the water. At Main Avenue and Grist Mill Road, the scuba team discovers human remains. They belong to Page Fannin, reported missing two days earlier. Law enforcement has not released Page's cause of death. In addition to Brian

Fitzgibbon joining us from the scene there in Plymouth and veteran trial lawyer Jason Ocean is joining me now, Hermania Rodriguez, chief U.S. reporter with DailyMail.com. Hermania, thank you for being with us. Also, host of Welcome to Magaland podcast. Hermania, the skull to which Fitzgibbons is referring, it was green in color. Is that correct? That's right. And clearly, as you said, all of these remains are being found in the same area and there seems to be details that tie them. But one of the strange things is all the decomposition levels were different. Paige that we just mentioned, her body had only gone missing a few days prior to it being found. So she was not as decomposed as some of the other remains that police have found. As you mentioned, this foal was beyond any point of recognition.

Green in color. Joining me now, a renowned expert, Dr. Kendall Crowns, the chief medical examiner, Tarrant County, that's Fort Worth, and has just launched a brand new podcast, Mayhem in the Morgue. Esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. Dr. Kendall Crowns, thank you for being with us. What does that tell you that the skull was green in color? It can be a number of things. It could be it's been out in those woods long enough that moss or mold is starting to grow on it which will discolor the

the skull also the dirt composition in the area if it has a high copper content can cause a green discoloration as well and then finally it could be something associated with the individual's death or a chemical being used to try and bleach the skull or get flesh off the skull or something along those lines. It's interesting to me. Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're telling me something I've never heard before. Stop right there, Dr. Crowns. People actually bleach a skull?

What did you just say? Well, so what I was saying was they may have tried to use chemicals to try and get rid of the tissue off the skull. I miss misspoke by saying bleach, but by using the chemicals, it could have discolored the bones in a way. OK, you know, Dr. Kendall Crowns, every time I talk to you, I learn something completely new. So a skull can be discolored, possibly turning green. If the killer has tried to remove all the flesh so as to hide the identity of the victim and that. OK, so the skull could be discolored because of that. A possibility.

Yes. I'm going to circle back to the age of the skull, but we've got seven more victims to analyze. That's in Plymouth. What about Groton? It was a very vague call. We were able to determine where the item was at, and during the initial investigation, we located human remains.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace A Groton, Connecticut resident visiting a loved one at the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery calls police to report a suspicious item just outside the cemetery entrance. Responding officers make a grisly discovery, a woman's remains in a suitcase. Police say the woman has lightly pigmented skin and may suffer from Turner syndrome, which causes a very wide neck and broad chest, among several other physical differences. Investigators believe her remains were dumped there in mid-February. Now, I don't want to be misleading in any way. I do not believe that the cemetery victim is connected to all the other bodies, and this is why. The victim is identified as Suzanne Wormser, aged 58, who's a resident of the city of Groton.

The suspect is identified as Donald Coffell, aged 68, who's also a resident of the city of Groton. The suspect was interviewed for a third time and at that time confessed to the murder, providing details that matched the scene documentation as well as evidence collected by the investigators. Today, the suspect was arrested and transferred to the State Department Corrections. That still leaves me seven dead bodies and counting. Paige Fannin is a 35-year-old hairdresser from West Islip, New York.

All seems well until the young woman is reported missing after failing to return calls from concerned family members. An intense investigation leads authorities to the bank of the Norwalk River where Paige's clothes and remains are eventually located. That same day, just one stayed away, a weathered skull with a missing jaw is discovered in Massachusetts. Paige Fannin, one of eight dead people, their bodies turning up scattered across the same region, eight bodies. I think we can exclude one of them from any suggestion that a serial killer was involved. That leaves me with seven dead bodies connected or not. Now, this is what authorities want us to believe. Listen, there have been many rumors and unsubstantiated fear mongering taking place in the social media,

making the city and surrounding communities seem like unsafe places to live. I am here to assure you that the city of Groton is among the safest communities in the Northeast. Okay, the same exact thing was said about so many serial killers, telling people you're safe, you're fine. There's no such thing as a serial killer walking amongst us. Does the name Portland Ser serial killer ring a bell? They're aware that there seems to be some similarities there, but it's too soon for them to say that there's anything directly linked between these. Rumors of a serial killer in Portland, Oregon begin with 22-year-old Kristen Smith's remains

in February. Six weeks later, Joanna Speaks is found on an abandoned property. Dead weeks later, Charity Lynn Perry and an unidentified woman are found dead the same day. 31-year-old Bridget Webster is discovered on a rural road. And just one week later, 22-year-old Ashley Real is found dead in a heavily wooded area. A grand jury has indicted Jesse Calhoun on murder and abuse of a corpse. Charges in connection to the deaths of Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Joanna Speaks. That from our friends at KOIN6 authorities reiterated over and over. It was like a mantra, second verse, same as the first. There's not a serial killer. There's not a serial killer.

There was a serial killer. And then with egg on their face, they say this. We recognize that until today, there have been many questions and that their deaths have caused fear and anxiety across our area and for the families who have been waiting for answers. That from our friends at KPTV Fox 12. Back to Brian Fitzgibbons joining us on the scene, Plymouth Mass. I want to circle back to the significance of the skull missing a jawbone, being weathered, we believe, till it was green in color. The likelihood is that that was from age, age out in the woods. And it may not take that long. It could be weeks. It could be months. I don't necessarily believe it has to be years depending on the

weather. But that said, that's significant, Brian Fitzgibbons, because if these end up being connected, that shows the S.K. serial killer has been working at work in this area, this region for some time. Absolutely, Nancy. And Massachusetts state police have released very limited information. But that was one of the points that they did release that this skull had been there for quite some time. Now, that has caused some concern of two local families of missing women, Sandra Crispo, missing since 2019, and Brittany McCormick, who's been missing since the summer of 2021. Back to Dr. Kendall Crowns joining us, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County, star of a brand new hit podcast, Mayhem in the Morgue. A couple of quick questions. Dr.

Kendall Crowns, again, thank you for being with us. How do you look at a skull and determine if it's male or female? Specifically now, we don't have a jawbone. If you don't have a jawbone, can you have the upper teeth? Yes, the upper teeth are part of the maxilla, which is attached to the skull. so you will still see the upper teeth if they stayed in place. Because when the gums disappear, often the teeth will also fall out as well. One of the things the anthropologists will look at for variating in males and females, there is a little subtle shapes and changes to the skull bones that the anthropologists can use to figure out if it's a female or a male. What subtle differences?

There can be some changes and particularly eye sockets can look a little different from males to females. And then the overall structure and shape, often the male's skulls will be larger, but occasionally you do get these smaller males that can look like female skulls as well. And I believe there are differences in the size of the forehead. Can you, based on the teeth, determine the age of the victim if there are teeth left, Dr. Kendall-Crowns? Yes, you can tell age on an individual based on teeth because with children, of course, the teeth aren't all erupted. And so the teeth

come in at varying times throughout your life. So you can get an idea up to when your wisdom teeth come out of age range. But once the wisdom teeth are out, it is difficult to age someone based on teeth. Although you can look at how the wear patterns and things like that and get an idea that they are older. And of course, you can possibly even make an ID through dental records. But the problem with that is, Brian Fitzgibbons, you've got to have somebody to compare it to. Just for instance, if I were to find your skull out in the woods behind you there near Plymouth Mass, and I suspect it's you and I don't have any tissue left. I can't get any DNA. If I think it's you, I can compare the teeth to your dental records because nobody else is going to show that you had braces, not once, but twice that you had one wisdom tooth removed, but not

the others that you had a cavity here, here, and here. Nobody else is going to have the same pattern of dental or orthodontic work that you do. The odds are millions to one. That's one way, but you got to have something to compare the unknown teeth to. And here, we got nothing, Brian. I think you're right. At this point, we haven't heard that any teeth have been located. And I can tell you, Nancy, the number of state police and local police vehicles and agents that were in that woods was high. It's a very dense forest with thick underbrush. So it would have been very hard to locate any teeth that may have fallen out of that skull. What about the possibility, Dr. Kendall Crowns, of getting DNA?

Yes, you can get DNA from the skull, especially if the teeth are still there, because the teeth are actually something we'll remove to get DNA from. The pulp structure in the teeth have a nice amount of kind of blood and pulp that we can use for doing DNA from. So if there's teeth left. What if we don't have teeth, Kendall? It becomes a little more difficult if there isn't any bone marrow left in that skull, it's almost impossible to get DNA from it. But if there's a tooth, you can definitely do DNA testing. Next question, Dr. Kendall Crowns, how long does it take for the bone marrow to dissipate or disappear? It depends on the temperature outside, how long they've been out there, the weather conditions, the heat, all that can dry up the bone marrow quite quickly. But again, if there's anything left, you can get DNA from it.

But I would say once you get into weeks or months, it'd be days versus weeks in the summer, months in the fall and winter. A series of bone-chilling discoveries in New England continues when Suzanne Wormser's remains are found stuffed in a suitcase in a Connecticut cemetery. This at the heels of two other sets of remains located earlier in the month across Massachusetts and Connecticut. But it doesn't stop there. Just a day later, Connecticut mom Denise Leary's remains are found in New Haven. Is a serial killer stalking the New England region? So far, all we hear is no, no, no, no from authorities. But that's what authorities always say when they are confronted with evidence that there is a serial killer.

Eight bodies turning up within weeks, I believe killed over a period of time. One of those murders has been solved. So we're subtracting that out. We still have seven bodies and counting. Joining me right now is a very special guest. Joining us, Jane Boroski. At seven months pregnant, let that sink in, she was stabbed 27 times. She is the lone survivor of the Connecticut River Valley serial killer and host of podcast Invisible Tears. Jane, thank you so much for being with us. Oh, thank you, Nancy, for having me.

Ms. Borowski, when you heard the news that a serial killer could be stalking New England again, what went through your mind? I was quite frustrated when I was listening to law enforcement talk about all these cases, saying they're not suspicious. They don't believe there's a serial killer. And that really concerned me. concern me because as far as I'm concerned if they don't be honest then people put their guard down and and just disregard all this so to me I wanted to start talking about it more so that people could start being more aware of their surroundings and we're showing a sketch right now, Jane. Hold on, Jane. I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're suddenly showing a sketch of the Connecticut River Valley

serial killer. That sketch right there is the composite that I did of the person that or the monster that attacked me. Jane, why are you so concerned about what L.A. law enforcement is saying now about the possibility of the New England serial killer? Because I think that they should be letting people know that they need to be more vigilant about what they're doing on a day-to-day basis. They need to, you know, start thinking about their safety and be more aware of their surroundings and, you know, the buddy system and, you know, carry protection. They say that all these cases are not suspicious, but they're not actually telling anybody what the manner of death is. Like if it's a suicide.

Oh, my goodness, Jane. Jane, that's what I've got written in big letters with a magic marker. If you don't even know the COD cause of death with these seven remaining that we know of seven dead bodies, then how can you say they're not connected? I mean, I agree with you. That is unfounded. Yeah. And that's suspicious. That's very suspicious. Like if you can't share that or you don't know, I mean, some of these bodies or remains, they've already said that it's not suspicious before they even sent them out to be examined. How can they even determine that?

It's frustrating. Another problem. Don't move, Jane Borowski. Another problem to Brian Fitzgibbon is joining us at the scene where one of the sets of remains were found. Brian, USPA, nationwide security, leading a team of of investigators finding missing people and helping to solve unsolved homicides. Brian, the prompt, one of the many problems here is, and this is not peculiar to New England. This is everywhere. This is why Bundy took so long to solve and Israel Keys took so long to solve. And so many others took so long to solve. You basically have to take out an ad on third Avenue. I did it. I'm

the serial killer because the law enforcement aren't stupid. They're not dumb is that jurisdictions are not in the same system. You could have two dead bodies with different MOs of disposal in, let's just say Massachusetts, and then another dead body in Connecticut with a different method of disposal and on and on. And nobody, it's not that they hate each other or they're intentionally ignoring each other. It's they don't have the ability, the structural possibilities of that being in the same database. You see what I mean? They're not talking to each other about these dead bodies. Certainly, Nancy. And that's where, you know, law enforcement would consider and should consider

the creation of a task force where there is one of these where these agencies can openly collaborate and communicate on evidence, the victimology of the victims that have been found here, and any new data that comes up along their investigations. Joining us from New Hampshire, Jane Borowski, the lone survivor, the only one that we know survived the Connecticut River Valley serial killer. I don't blame them, Ellie, for not knowing what's going on. For instance, in Bundy, how would somebody that's and I had a fellow prosecutor that was one of the first cops on the scene at the Chi Omega massacre, and he was a rookie. He said he told one day that he said something like, stay calm.

Your friends have been brutally murdered upstairs. And of course, they all started screaming. He was a rookie that was sent to the scene. So, you know, why would law enforcement answering that call investigating that case think, hey, I should look at Colorado murders. They shouldn't. It's not in the same database. So Bundy went on a nationwide spree and I submit there are still unsolved murders of Bundy's victims. But what I do blame them with, along with Jane Borowski, who lived to tell the tale, is telling people, don't look at the man

behind the curtain. Don't look over here. Look over here. There's not a serial killer, but they won't say why, Jane. Exactly. I agree with you, Nancy. It's frustrating. You know, I get that there's different states involved and all that. But I mean, come on, let's be honest. This is suspicious. And I don't see a reason why they can't elaborate that, that these cases are suspicious. They don't know if any of them are connected. There could be a possibility. They don't know.

But I mean, they need to be more honest with the public. You know, they don't want to raise red flags and they don't want to raise fear and all that. But with them saying nothing, that raises fear. That's suspicious. What happened in your case, Jane? With me, I had left a fair. I lived in a very small community in New Hampshire. And I left a fair. And I was driving home that night. This was in a very small town that in 1988 virtually had no major crime. And I stopped at a closed store to get a soda out of a soda machine. And this monster came and parked next to me. And he got out and came over to my car

and tried to get me out of my car and get me to go with him. I fought. I refused to go with him. And as I was trying to get away from him, he ultimately tackled me down and stabbed me 27 times. Tell me about drawing this sketch of him. Well, I was in ICU. This was drawn approximately two or three days after my attack. I was in ICU.

I was on an incubator. I had two collapsed lungs. He sliced my jugular. He sliced my tendon in my thumb, sliced the tendon in my knee. And the detectives came in with this box of slides, different eyes, different faces, face shapes, different mouths, different noses, different hair. And so they show me a slide and that whole composite was done by me blinking once for yes and two for no. And that's how that composite was created. I wish that they had set me up with an artist after I got out of the hospital so I could have had a more detailed sketch of him. But unfortunately, they never did that. So that's the only composite that we have out there.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The unidentified Connecticut River Valley serial killer is responsible for the murders of seven young women, all within the Connecticut River Valley region of New England. And he is still walking free, still unsolved. And you said your daughter is a miracle. Why did you say that? I was seven months pregnant with her and, you know, she survived. I ended up carrying her for another two months after my attack and she survived.

So she is a miracle. I believe that it's because of her that I survived because she wanted to survive and live. It gave me the strength to survive. Residents of Rock Creek Road in New Haven, Connecticut, are spending time cleaning up their gardens as spring arrives when one homeowner makes a grisly discovery. As the homeowner clears dead overgrowth from their fence line, they discover human remains and call 911. Investigators say the remains are in an advanced state of decomposition.

Four days later, the chief medical examiner says the remains belong to Denise Leary, reported missing nearly six months ago. Leary's cause of death is undetermined. Social media can speculate. We have to deal with facts. There's no facts to support that this woman was murdered. And that from our friends at WFSB. And that was Officer Christian Brookhart from New Haven PD. Okay, Brian Fitzgibbons, same thing. Second verse, same as the first. You've got a dead female in advanced state of decomp.

It's Denise Leary. And she's found in dead overgrowth behind a fence line. What, she just went out there and had a stroke? That's not what happened. Absolutely, Nancy. There seems to be a lot of unanswered questions. And we know that law enforcement is going to protect information about ongoing cases. But it is particularly frustrating when they drone on with the same the same old story that there's nothing to be worried about here. You know, this case seems like there had to be foul play. So that's Denise Leary. Now there's Michelle Romano. Listen, Michelle Romano was born and raised in Rhode Island with three siblings

graduating from Coventry High School. Michelle goes into social work. And when her two children, Jaden and Fallon, are in high school, she lands her dream job at the Trudeau Center in Warwick for individuals with disabilities. Neighbors say it's like Michelle Romano just vanished. The friendly, loving mother walks her dog every night. But in late July, the walks suddenly stop and no one can get a hold of her. Warwick police also asked the public for any information on Michelle, saying she was last seen July 22nd in the Oakland Beach area. Michelle is five feet tall with black hair.

I knew something was wrong immediately because she would, like John said, she would never, ever leave her kids behind. From our friends WPRI, back to Hermonio Rodriguez joining us, chief U.S. reporter Daily Mail. What about Michelle Romano? That's right. Michelle was last seen last summer and wasn't found until early April, also in a wooded area. But as you have been mentioning, Nancy, the police have not told us how she died. They have only said that they are looking into the suspicious circumstances around her death. So again, no information about the manner or cause of death, just that they're looking into it. But the similarity is, of course, the way it was found. And Michelle was one of the victims that had been missing the longest.

Then, of course, there is another dead body that is found in Killingly, Connecticut. And then, of course, there's the Framingham body. Listen. At 945 p.m., Wayland and Framingham, Massachusetts, firefighters put out a brush fire near the Massachusetts Turnpike when they stumble on a human skeleton. Police searched the area once the blaze is controlled, finding nothing to help identify the remains or what happened to the victim. It appears the remains had been there for months. A forensic anthropologist is working to identify the remains. So it seems to me there, Hermonio Rodriguez, that the remains tried to be obscured, were obscured by a brush fire, right? That's a new aspect of this particular body that was found, that there was also a fire that happened at the same time of the discovery,

making the remains really hard to identify. As many as half of these bodies have not been identified because of how decomposed or destroyed they were. Now, just one hour away, correct me if I'm wrong, because there's a lot of dead bodies we're juggling here and a lot of fact scenarios, Hermonio Rodriguez. You've got the body found in a brush fire. I guess cops are going to say what she had a heart attack, fell over and died. And then someone happened to throw a lit match nearby. OK, but then one hour away in Springfield, Mass., this happens.

8 a.m. Tuesday morning, Springfield, Massachusetts. First responders rushed to a bike trail along the Connecticut River. A 911 caller reported an unconscious woman. When help arrives, the woman is declared deceased. Police have not released Megan Meredith's cause of death, but it is being investigated as a homicide. So you've got Hermania Rodriguez. You've got one woman dead. The body set on fire in Wayland, the Farmingham Mass area, and then an hour away, another dead female, that being Megan Meredith. And police are not releasing a COD cause of death. Is that right?

That's right. This was the last body or the most recent remains that were found in the area. And police did say that it appears to be a homicide. However, they are still once again not giving a details. It does appear that because these remains of the victim, it was reported as someone being unresponsive. So the suggestion is that these remains were not as decomposed as others, but that's all we know. Again, authorities insisting there's not a serial killer at work, but a Facebook group now tolling nearly 70,000 members disagrees. District Attorney Anthony Gallini tells the public Springfield is safe despite the seven other sets of remains found in the last two months and another woman's murder in Springfield's Forest Park in January. Speculation about a serial killer in New England is gaining significant traction online.

The New England serial killer Facebook group's 67,000 members and users on other platforms like TikTok and X are pointing to several recent discoveries of human remains in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island between March and April. Google shows a huge spike in searches for New England serial killer. While police say the rumors are unfounded, they are having a hard time convincing the public otherwise. To Jane Borowski joining us, the lone survivor of the Connecticut River Valley serial killer. There's not even a tip line set up for the alleged New England serial killer. There's not. We tried to find one. There's not one.

Isn't that suspicious? Like, do they want to solve these cases? Exactly. So the best number we can give, if you know or think you know about any of these seven dead bodies, please call Springfield PD, 413-787-6355. Repeat 413-787-6355.

Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. you're listening to an iHeart podcast