Police have issued a statement addressing growing fears of a so-called ‘New England Serial Killer’ after a 12th body was found within four months.
Last week, authorities revealed that a 39-year-old man named Stephan Myers’ body was found behind Bristol Plymouth High School in Taunton, Massachusetts, on April 30.
According to Boston 25 News, Myers died after being shot once at a nearby construction site. Authorities confirmed he had no connection to the school itself.
The victim’s death adds to a string of grisly discoveries across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island since early March.
Bodies have been recovered from rivers, woods, and even inside a suitcase, fueling rampant speculation that a serial killer could be operating across the tri-state area. However, law enforcement continues to push back on this narrative.
“While online conversations around these incidents continue to grow, we urge the public to be mindful of the role that social media can play in spreading fear or misinformation,” Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said via a statement.
“Unverified claims can compromise active investigations and contribute to a sense of chaos that does not reflect the full picture,” he added.
The speculation reached a fever pitch after the discovery of several female victims in rapid succession.
These include Paige Aliehs Fannon, 35, whose body was pulled from the Norwalk River on March 6, 59-year-old Denise Leary, who was found in a wooded area behind Rock Creek Road on March 20, and Michele Romano, 56, who was discovered in a wooded area off Plainfield Pike on March 25.
Other cases include human remains discovered in Plymouth, Framingham, and Killingly, as well as decomposed bodies located in New Haven and Foster.
Despite the growing list of victims, Connecticut State Police have maintained: “There is no information at this time suggesting any connection to similar remains discoveries, and there is also no known threat to the public.”
Yet former Washington D.C. homicide detective Ted Williams suggested investigators are still keeping all options open.
“They are primarily at the preliminary stages of gathering evidence at each one of these death scenes to try to establish a nexus between those scenes and a single individual or individuals,” he told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Peter Valentin, Chair of the Forensic Science Department at the University of New Haven, noted the details remain “curious,” especially in cases like the Springfield death, which he described as “very recent,” unlike others that appear older or more decomposed.
“I am curious about what was recovered around the body,” he said. “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.”
Public fear has been amplified by social media groups, with one Facebook community – originally titled “New England Serial Killer” – ballooning to over 65,000 members before being renamed.
Online forums have dubbed the pattern “sinister,” and searches for “New England serial killer” spiked on Google in early April.
Still, law enforcement remains adamant about resisting sensationalist labels. “Internet rumors are just that,” Springfield Police Department spokesperson Ryan Walsh remarked.
Former FBI instructor Scott Duffey added that while nothing points conclusively to a serial killer, people should stay alert. “Don’t let your guard down,” he warned, cited by The New York Post. “Be aware of your surroundings… someone looking to take advantage of a vulnerable situation will do so.”
As investigations continue and autopsies are conducted, officials caution against making premature connections. For now, the public remains caught between fact, fear, and speculation.
