New England serial killer panic explained.
A string of mysterious deaths is unfolding across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island—and the count has just reached eight.
New England’s previous serial scare recalled.
In the late ’80s, the Connecticut River Valley Killer was suspected of murdering at least seven women in the same area.
At least seven women were believed to be victims of the so-called Connecticut River Valley Killer, whose crimes spanned from 1978 to 1988.
The victims shared chilling similarities—many were last seen alone, traveling, or driving on quiet backroads.
Their bodies were later discovered in wooded areas, often miles from where they vanished, stabbed multiple times.
In one case, a nurse named Jane Boroski was attacked while pregnant—she survived, becoming the only known witness to the killer.
Boroski recalled being stabbed 27 times by a man who pulled up behind her at a closed gas station late at night.
Despite her detailed account and a police sketch, no suspect was ever arrested, and the killings stopped as suddenly as they began.
The case remains one of the most infamous unsolved serial murder investigations in New England history.
To this day, many believe the killer was either arrested for another crime—or simply moved elsewhere and kept going.
And now, with eight new bodies in 2025, some locals fear history is repeating itself—only this time, no one’s calling it what it is.
String of deaths confirmed.
Paige Fannon, 35, from West Islip, New York, was found dead in the Norwalk River, her clothes and personal items eerily left on the bank.
Denise Leary, a 59-year-old mother of two who’d been missing since September, was discovered dead, with few answers offered.
Michele Romano, 56, of Warwick, New York, was found in Foster, Rhode Island—her disappearance previously listed as “missing person.”
Connecticut authorities recovered human remains in Groton, but identification has been stalled due to decomposition.
Police believe the individual found in Killingly was a middle-aged woman, but no positive ID has been made.
Human remains were again discovered in Norwalk—close to the site where Paige Fannon had been found less than a month prior.
Remains located in a wooded area outside Plymouth added to growing suspicions that the deaths were more than isolated.
The most recent discovery occurred near Hall of Fame Avenue, where an unresponsive woman was found by a cyclist.
Police confirmed the woman’s death but haven’t yet shared her name or how she died—pending a medical examiner’s report.
Online theories proposed.
As more bodies emerged, social media erupted with theories of a serial killer targeting women across state lines.
A Facebook group called “New England Serial Killer” quickly amassed 65,000+ members, pushing a theory police continue to deny.
“There is no known connection,” said Connecticut State Police, dismissing the theory as digital fearmongering.
Spokesperson Ryan Walsh confirmed they responded to an unresponsive person near the bike path—no foul play announced yet.
Fannon, Leary, and Romano remain the only confirmed IDs among the eight, with cause of death still unreleased.
Some bodies were too decomposed to immediately identify, leaving families in limbo and conspiracies to fester.
Reddit threads, TikTok theories, and armchair sleuths are mapping out timelines, arguing the locations are no coincidence.
April 7 saw a massive spike in searches for “New England serial killer,” showing public fear is hitting a boiling point.
A quiet terror spreads through New England.
Despite clear regional implications, no multi-state investigative task force has been announced.
Whether it’s a serial killer or something else, the public is terrified—and the silence isn’t helping.
Eight people—mostly women—are dead across three states in under eight weeks. And not one arrest has been made.
Police deny a pattern, but the public isn’t buying it. Something dark is unfolding in New England—and it’s not over yet.