Loading summary
Transcript94 lines
- [00:00]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
- [00:20]
Midi Health Announcer
This podcast is supported by Midi Health. Are you in midlife? Feeling dismissed, unheard or just plain tired of the old health care system? You're not alone. For too long, women's serious midlife health issues have been trivialized, ignored and met with a just deal with it attitude. Many of us have been made to feel ashamed or forgotten. In fact, even today, 75% of women seeking care for menopause and perimenopause issues are left entirely untreated. But here's the powerful it's time for a change. It's time for miti. MITI is not just a health care provider, it's a women's telehealth clinic founded and supported by world class leaders in women's health. What sets MITI apart? We are the only women's telehealth brand covered by major insurance companies, making high quality expert care accessible and affordable. Our clinicians provide one on one face to face consultations where they truly listen to your unique needs. We offer a full range of holistic, data driven solutions from hormonal therapies and weight loss protocols to lifestyle coaching and preventative health guidance. This isn't one size fits all care. This is care uniquely tailored for you. At miti, you will join our patients who feel seen, heard and prioritized. You will find that our mission is clear to help all women thrive in midlife, giving them access to the health care they deserve. Because we believe midlife isn't the middle at all. It is the beginning of your second act. Ready to feel your best and write your second act script? Visit joinmidi.com today to book your personalized insurance covered virtual Visit. That's join MIDI.com the Care Women Deserve.
- [02:17]
Mike Morford
Criminology is a true crime podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics. Listener discretion is advised.
- [02:44]
Midi Health Announcer
Foreign.
- [02:54]
Mike Ferguson
Hello everyone and welcome to episode 357 of the Criminology Podcast. This is Mike Ferguson and this is Mike Morford. Mr. Morford, how you doing this week buddy?
- [03:06]
Mike Morford
It's been one of those weeks where you run into some challenges of sick and health. Having some technical difficulties. Before we tried to get on here but now I think end of the week I'm. I'm all fixed and ready to go into the weekend. Let's do with you.
- [03:19]
Mike Ferguson
Well, that's good. That's always good to be up and ready for the weekend to relax now. My week's been pretty good. I'm actually really excited about getting into this episode though. So let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Kayla Ramirez, Emily K. And Samantha Mayhew. So a lot of great new support. We really appreciate it.
- [03:42]
Mike Morford
Yeah. Thank you so much to everybody that takes the time to support the show. It helps us out a lot. For anyone else that would like to head over to patreon.com criminology to get started. All right.
- [03:52]
Mike Ferguson
Like I said, I'm excited. So let's jump right in. This week we're talking about a case that is fresh in the news and making headlines. It's a case that has people asking, is there a serial killer currently operating in New England and leaving a trail of bodies behind? One by one, the discovery of 10 bodies in the New England area across multiple states have made headlines over the past few weeks. Some of these bodies had been deceased for so long that only skeletal remains were left, while others were found hours after they died. One of these victims was even found while they were still alive. Though unresponsive, they ended up being pronounced dead at the scene and it has been ruled a homicide. So far. The authorities seem to think that the cases are not related and that there isn't a serial killer on the loose, but not everyone agrees. After you listen to this episode, you'll have to come to your own conclusions based on all the info we have.
- [04:55]
Mike Morford
In early March 2025, 35 year old Paige Fannin was reported missing. She lived in West Islip, New York, but there was information that she had been seen in the Wilton, Connecticut area. Officers there used an unmanned law enforcement drone to search for any sign of her. It's unclear whether it was spotted via drone or if it was called in as a tip, but on March 6, officers ended up at Shanks Island, a park in Wilton, where they found clothes and some of Paige's other personal belongings along the banks of the Norwalk River. It was a suspicious scene. Items abandoned along the riverbank and investigators believe that Paige may have fallen into the river. The Norwalk Police Department scuba team was sent to search the area and ultimately they did find her body near Main Avenue and Gristmill Road in Norwalk, south of Wilton. It's likely that she entered the water near her belongings and was swept downstream. According to the hour.com Norwalk Police Lt. Thomas Podgorski noted that at the time, the Norwalk river was flowing rapidly due to heavy rain overnight. At the time of this recording, there are no updates about how Paige ended up in the river or what was going on when she was reported missing.
- [06:08]
Mike Ferguson
And obviously morph, this is a, a very recent and ongoing situation. These different cases that we're going to be talking about in this episode. So, you know, some we have more updates on than others and I'm sure there will be more that comes out in the near future. But it's such a fascinating series of cases that we wanted to talk about it as quickly as we could.
- [06:39]
Mike Morford
Yeah, we had a few requests to do this and it's something that's making national headlines. Everybody's talking about it. But as you mentioned, the only drawback to doing these cases that are that fresh is we don't have a lot of new stuff and sometimes things are changing by the day. So by the time listeners hear this, there could even be more updates.
- [07:01]
Mike Ferguson
The same day that Paige Fannin's body was found in the Norwalk river, part of human skull was found by a hunter in a wooded area in Plymouth, Massachusetts, just under 200 miles away from Norwalk. To date there have been no updates on this development. What we do know is that as of now, no other bones have been found. And we also know that the patch of woods this skull was found in is surrounded by high end developments. Less than two weeks after Paige Fannin's body was recovered and the human skull was found, there was a development about 80 miles from Norwalk in Groton, Connecticut.
- [07:41]
Mike Morford
What's odd about this particular case is only the human skull was found. There's no other bones that were found, no clothing. You would think if the bones were scattered, maybe by an animal, there might be more to find. They only found the skull in that area and again, it is surrounded by developments. So it would be a hard area for someone to get into, dispose of a body without being seen. That makes me wonder, could they have just tossed the head there and the rest of the remains of this person or someplace else?
- [08:17]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, I do think it's a little strange to only find the skull now. It may be that it comes out later to be exactly what you just said. I think it also gives police less.
- [08:32]
Mike Morford
To work with, obviously, and looking long term. If they're going to do any kind of DNA, genealogy, that kind of stuff, to extract DNA usable for that from a skull is tough. So they may have an uphill battle. As far as that goes eventually too. Authorities there in Groton responded to the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery on Mitchell street due to a call regarding a suspicious item near the bus stop on Local Route 11. The item ended up being a black wheeled suitcase emitting a foul odor. Inside the suitcase was the torso of a woman wrapped in a trash bag. It was clear that there was some sort of foul play involved because she had been dismembered, stuffed onto a suitcase and dumped in the cemetery. Authorities believed that this body had been near the entrance of the cemetery since mid February. Investigators released the information that this victim may have had Turner syndrome, which according to patch.com is a chromosomal disorder that can cause physical characteristics such as short stature, broad chest, short wide neck and small chin. The identity of this body was later confirmed to be 58 year old Suzanne Wormser, who did indeed have Turner syndrome. Initially, city of Groton Police Chief David Burton believed that Suzanne may have been killed in or near the cemetery where she was found. And I don't know about you, but when I find a suitcase out in the woods all by itself or in a cemetery in this case especially, and it's emitting a foul odor, I'm going to be a little bit nervous to open that up because I think we've done too many of these episodes to know that it's usually not garbage or something like that. It's usually something bad. So whoever found this probably got the shock of their life.
- [10:17]
Mike Ferguson
Well, how many times, Morph, do you actually find suitcases in the woods or in a cemetery?
- [10:23]
Mike Morford
Well, I'm the oddball that has found a suitcase way out in the middle of the woods, a mile from the road. And I was with some friends and we did open it nervously and it was filled with garbage luckily. So no bodies inside of it.
- [10:38]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, we don't actually know if the person who found it opened it or called the authorities and then the authorities opened it. The details were a little fuzzy there, but you are correct. If the person who found it opened it, that would be the shock of a lifetime. Now me personally, if it's emitting that foul odor, you know, the stench of death, let's say. I'm not opening that, I'll let the authorities take care of them. Just five days after Susanne Wormser's body was found in Grodin, another body was found, this time on Rock Creek Road in New Haven, Connecticut. According to New Haven Independent, the remains were in an advanced state of decay. This ended up being the body of 59 year old Denise Leary. According to NBC News the remains were found by some people clearing brush in a wooded area behind a house. She had been missing since September of 2024.
- [11:40]
Mike Morford
Less than one week after Denise's body was found, authorities in Foster, Rhode island recovered a body. A driver had stopped off a Plainfield pike along Route 14 when they stumbled across the remains in a wooded area of a vacant lot. Residents living in the area wondered how long the remains had been in their neighborhood and some of them thought it had been quite a while. A resident in the area named Tom Slater told turn2ten.com news I know my dog has been acting strange when he comes out here. He's always sniffing over that way. Authorities were soon able to verify that this was the body of 56 year old Michelle Romano, a mother of two who lived in Warwick, Rhode island, nearly 30 miles away from Foster. Michelle had been missing even longer than Denise had been. She was reported missing in August 2024.
- [12:29]
Mike Ferguson
As of the time we recorded this episode, investigators have still not released the cause of Michelle Romano's death. However, according to People.com, authorities have noted suspicious circumstances and those close to her agree that something doesn't add up. One of Michelle's friends named chantal Boutillier told WPRI.com, i knew something was wrong immediately, adding that she would never leave her kids behind. Another friend of Michelle's daughter, John Michelotti, told People.com, she didn't just die and end up in the woods. Someone has to be held accountable for what happened to her. Investigators have been tight lipped, but neighbors who were watching as more and more officers arrived have revealed some details. Resident Tom Slater told People magazine, they just said they found a suspicious trash bag. Nothing about a body found in a trash bag in the woods screams natural causes. As the news began to ask if there could be any connections between these cases, residents throughout New England continued to pay more attention to the news and their surroundings just in case and I think more if this Tom Slater guy makes a good point. Nothing about a body in a trash bag or a body in a suitcase says anything but foul play. I mean, even if someone were to hurt themselves pretty hard to put themselves afterwards inside of a suitcase or a bag.
- [14:07]
Mike Morford
New England's made up of a handful of states that border each other and I think the news was starting to saturate across state lines and people were starting to hear about these different cases and I think it's only natural that they'd start to be nervous and worried about the news they were hearing about these bodies that were starting to pile up. At around 8am on April 22, 2025, officers from the Springfield, Massachusetts police department responded to a call regarding an unresponsive person near the bike path on the 1500 block of hall of Fame Avenue. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after their arrival. She was quickly identified as 45 year old Megan Meredith. At the time of this recording, her cause of death is still unknown or at least has not been released to the public. The last update we have for Megan is that an autopsy was to be.
- [15:02]
Mike Ferguson
Conducted and morph, you talked about people in the New England area across state lines starting to become worried and I see how that could happen, especially when you look at kind of the backgrounds or the ages of the victims. We have a number of victims here, females in their 40s or 50s. Okay. It's starting to look like somewhat of a pattern. And I think anytime you see that, the fear has to increase.
- [15:39]
Mike Morford
So to your point, I think people recognize that there's a pattern of women victims here in a general age range. It's hard not to see that and take it for what it is. Despite the police having mentioned that they don't think the cases are necessarily related, I understand why the public may be worried that they are.
- [16:05]
Mike Ferguson
On April 23, the day after Megan died, a man walking his dog found two people dead in a wooded area near a Walmart in Salem, Massachusetts. Prosecutor James Goubitos told Boston 25 News. They were hidden in the woods by various items and dirt and both bodies had apparent blunt force trauma and stab wounds. The two victims were identified as 41 year old Andrew Gumpel from Arizona and 42 year old Jonathan Thompson from Oregon. The deaths of these two men obviously breaks the pattern of victims that we've discussed so far who were all women up to this point. But the discovery that it was two men found dead in Salem didn't deter many from believing that there was a serial killer on the loose. While it's generally true that serial killers have a specific profile, a type of victim that they will target and prey on, they are often opportunists. And at the end of the day we know they're capable of murder. The fact that these two men were from different states caused people to speculate about long haul truckers being responsible.
- [17:22]
Mike Morford
And once people start thinking that there might be a serial killer on the loose, then they start theorizing, well, if these people are out of state and found here, how did they get here? Maybe it is a trucker coming through there and dropping these people here and it starts to feed that fear, people start talking about it and without anything to really back it up, just because it's human nature to want to know what's going on and talk about it.
- [17:49]
Mike Ferguson
Well, and let's face it, there have been serial killers who were long haul truckers. And so, I mean that's not out of the realm of possibility. Although I do think it's. It's a little harder to group these together. Right. The women around the same ages. Okay. That looks to me like a possible serial killer. These two men, could they be connected? Yeah, possibly. But it doesn't, you know, kind of scream that out.
- [18:22]
Mike Morford
Yeah, I think a lot of people probably have included them thinking they could be the victims of the scare of a serial killer just because of the general area overlapping where the other victims were found.
- [18:34]
Mike Ferguson
And I know we'll talk about it more as the episode goes on, but I don't know what is scarier and I think we've talked about this before, having a serial killer operating in your area or the thought that there are multiple people, maybe possibly multiple serial killers operating in the same area at the same time.
- [18:57]
Mike Morford
Yeah, both scenarios are pretty frightening if you live in that area. The initial serial killer scare in New England was already at full force by the time those eight bodies were found in various towns in New England. The main Facebook group that article seemed to be pointing to as the driving factor behind the serial killer theory was actually created in 2021. The group, which has nearly 70,000 members, predates these eight discoveries by years. The members discussed the disappearances of Sandra Crispo from Hanson and Brittany McCormick of Hanover. In fact, many immediately thought of them when the skull was discovered in Plymouth.
- [19:36]
Mike Ferguson
54 year old Sandra Crispo was last seen in August of 2019. And after being dropped off at her house by her son in law, 27 year old Brittany McCormick was reported missing in September of 2021. Now there's no indication that these two cases are connected to each other or to any of the other cases we've discussed. But Sandra would fit right in with Michelle Romano, Denise Leary and Suzanne Wormser. And Brittany was close in age to Paige Fanny at the time of her disappearance. It's easy to see how you can find seeming connections and patterns if you're looking for them and try to connect cases due to proximity, time frame or victim type.
- [20:24]
Mike Morford
And it sounds like this group was heavily involved in discussing a lot of New England era cases. But I'm thinking they got a lot of New members and hype when these new cases popped up. They're probably really active on that in that group.
- [20:41]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, I'm assuming that the the group post and the group activity rose to a new level this year after the discovery of these bodies.
- [20:53]
Mike Morford
Most recently, while we were wrapping up research for this episode, two more bodies were recovered, adding to fears and causing people to be skeptical of the official stance that none of the cases are connected. On April 25, human remains were found in the Mill river behind a wooded area on Chandler Avenue in Taunton, Massachusetts. According to Mass Live, the District Attorney's office stated that the body showed obvious signs of decomposition, but investigators were quickly able to confirm the identity. 51 year old Samuel Stovall. Detectives do not currently believe that there's anything suspicious about his death. Samuel is said to be a homeless man and likely living in areas near the river. On April 27, the body of a man was pulled out of the Connecticut river in Rocky Hill near the shoreline south of Ferry Park. So far, no additional details on about this person have been released.
- [21:47]
Instacart Announcer
A PSA from instacart It's Sunday 5pm you had a non stop weekend. You're running on empty and so is your fridge. You're in the trenches of the Sunday scaries. You don't have it in you to go to the store, but this is your reminder you don't have to. You can get everything you need delivered through Instacart so that you can get what you really need. More time to do whatever you want. Instacart for one less Sunday. Scary. We're here.
- [22:15]
Vrbo Announcer
Get a jump on next summer with vrbo's early booking deals. Don't wait to claim your dream summer spot, whether that includes a good porch swing or a poolside lounger. When you book early, you get the best places at the best prices. But back to the poolside loungers with vrbo. You don't have to reserve any loungers. They're all yours. In fact, the whole private home is yours. Book with early booking deals and you can lounge around all summer long however.
- [22:42]
Mike Ferguson
You please@verbo.com the cases we've mentioned so far are the ones most commonly lumped in with this recent cluster, but the are more discoveries of remains not commonly being mentioned in connection with these other cases, but we thought they were worth mentioning. On March 20, skeletal remains were found near the Hoodcroft Club golf course in Derry, New Hampshire. Authorities confirmed this was the body of 23 year old Amanda Grusewski, who was last seen at a friend's house in Derry, New Hampshire on March 17, 2020.
- [23:22]
Mike Morford
On March 21, the body of 73 year old Margaret Hammersley was found in Forge Pond near Groton, Massachusetts, not to be confused with Groton, Connecticut, where Suzanne Wormser was found. Margaret had been reported missing one day earlier from Nashua, New Hampshire. On April 10, skeletal remains were discovered in the Killingley, Connecticut area, which is just seven miles from Foster, Rhode island, where another body was found. It's unknown how long this person has been deceased and they're still currently unidentified. What investigators do know is that this person was a man who was at least 5ft 8 inches tall and between the ages of 25 and 45 years old.
- [24:02]
Mike Ferguson
Also on April 10, firefighters found human remains when they were battling a brush fire off the Massachusetts Turnpike just west of Exit 117 in Framingham, according to Boston 25 News. A district attorney spokesman said the preliminary information indicates that the remains may have been there for several months before the fire led personnel to that area. No signs of anything criminal were found near the body. On April 20, a body was recovered from the Seonk river in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of this recording, no identity or cause of death had been revealed to the public, though authorities did state that there were no signs of foul play.
- [24:49]
Mike Morford
There's also a current missing persons case that hasn't been included in this cluster, but it's in the same area with similar circumstances. On April 10, 2025, a car belonging to 31 year old Eric Wein of Mansfield, Massachusetts was found illegally parked on Ocean Road in South Kingstown Road, Rhode island and it was subsequently towed. Eight days later, Eric was reported missing to the Mansfield Police Department. He's still missing as of the time of this recording. As far as we can tell, Eric's disappearance has mostly gone under the radar, though the circumstances are similar to Paige Fannin's disappearance and the location of his car matches up with some of the other cases we've discussed. Paige was from New York and her belongings were found in Connecticut. Eric was from Massachusetts and his car was found in Rhode Island. Those states heavily discussed so far.
- [25:40]
Mike Ferguson
And I think with a lot of these morph, you know, you can see some similarities. You can also say, well, how similar are they really? I think there's a tendency when you have a lot of bodies found, which obviously we're talking about a lot here in a relatively short span of time. Now, they're, they're different states, but some of these locations aren't that far from each other. It's kind of, I think Normal for people to want to find the similarities, try to group things, because that's kind of what we do.
- [26:23]
Mike Morford
Right.
- [26:23]
Mike Ferguson
You're trying to make sense of some of this stuff.
- [26:26]
Midi Health Announcer
Now.
- [26:26]
Mike Ferguson
It could be that some of these are connected, others have nothing to do with each other. It could be that they're all connected. We just don't know at this point. But I think you can see just by the sheer volume of bodies being found why there's so much focus on these cases and people dissecting them online.
- [26:52]
Mike Morford
It's certainly interesting that Eric's missing and his car was found abandoned in this area where these other bodies are turning up. So I certainly understand why people would talk about this as possibly being connected to these other cases. Here we have another possible male victim. He's a missing person as of now, but he doesn't match the fact that most of these bodies that have been found are women.
- [27:18]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, and I think that's something that, you know, has to be considered when you're trying to figure out is this one person, is this multiple killers, are some of these, you know, one off murders, which is entirely possible. You know, you can almost start to group. You have a number of women in their 40s and 50s, you have a few women in their 20s, and then you have the men. It seems that part of the confusion here for the public regarding the fear of a serial killer is that authorities initially withhold a lot of details. For example, as we research the case today, we know the first body found was Paige Fann, but the public had no idea. They didn't know her age or anything about her because officers were waiting to be able to notify her family before her death was in the news. And that's completely understandable. You would want the family to find out from authorities. You don't want them to be blindsided by this in the news. Then when you look at Denise Leary and Michelle Romano, two women in their 50s, one reported missing in August, one reported missing in September, both found dead. It's hard not to see a pattern there, especially if you think that the first body, still unidentified at that point, could also be a woman in her 50s who was taken sometime earlier. And then you add Suzanne Wormser, also in her 50s, to the mix, as well as two bodies found just seven miles from each other. And it's even harder to imagine for many people that there's not some type of serial killer here at work.
- [29:08]
Mike Morford
It would be more comforting for a lot of people if all these deaths were at the hands of one person. And that if that one person could be found and stopped, that this blitz of bodies being found would come to an end. The frightening alternative is that there might be more than one person on the loose in New England committing murders. And even if one is caught, others may remain free. Authorities across New England began to hear more and more from panicked New Englanders worrying about a serial killer or killers on the loose. So they began trying to ease the minds of concerned citizens.
- [29:39]
Mike Ferguson
And this kind of goes back to what we talked about earlier, Morph. One serial killer is scary. Is multiple serial killers operating in and around the same area at the same time frame even scarier. And that's entirely possible because like you said, if one is caught, that doesn't mean that the murders would stop because there is possibly one or more still operating.
- [30:11]
Mike Morford
One thing I'm thinking is if there are multiple people responsible for these murders, maybe that creates a better chance for police to catch somebody or for one of those individuals to slip up so that they can be caught. And then the police will have some answers, at least as to whether you know the specific case or cases that person's involved in. Maybe they can rule them out in some of the other ones.
- [30:39]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, well, at the very least, they would have more information than they have today if they were able to catch and at least one person. From the beginning, investigators were confident that the two men found dead near the Salem Walmart were not killed by any serial killer. And this is their belief to this day. In fact, they made an arrest in that case. 30 year old Jay Blodgett has been charged with two counts of murder. Blodgett's next court appearance is a probable cause hearing scheduled for May 28. Blodgett had been living in various spots in the woods near the Walmart for weeks before the murders. He was arrested for breaking into a storage locker that was in the woods across the street from the store. He emptied it out and put a mattress inside, using it as a place to sleep. According to the owner, Tony Singh, in an interview with CBS News, when he found him, Blodgett was very polite. He came out on his own and he was very apologetic. He explained that he got kicked out of the woods near Walmart and had no place to go and even offered Singh $2,000 to call it even and go their separate ways. He was arrested because he was carrying a hacksaw. Authorities seized his bicycle and nearly $7,000 in cash during his arrest today. Knowing what Blodgett has been arrested for, Singh considers himself lucky for walking Away from that interaction alive. But even if the murder of these two men could be taken out of the mix, taken off the list of serial killer victims, it doesn't change the fact that a serial killer could have been responsible for some of the deaths we discussed. And I thought morif that this was such a strange situation. You have an individual who's essentially living out in the woods. He gets kicked out, has no place to go, and breaks into a storage locker and is kind of using it as a makeshift home. But when he's arrested, he has not only a hacksaw, but $7,000. And the first thought I had was, why are you living in the woods if you got $7,000 in cash on you?
- [33:03]
Mike Morford
Yeah, it doesn't seem typical that somebody that's homeless living in the woods is gonna have that kind of money on him. But one thing I thought about while you were discussing this is the fact that he seems like a natural suspect. You know, if there's a creepy guy, homeless guy living in the woods, nearby residence might say, hey, you got to check out that guy that lives in the woods. He's creepy. And we don't know all the evidence that they have against him, but he could be just a convenient boogeyman, so to speak, that they have arrested. We just don't know what the evidence they have against him is at this point. And until he goes to court and trial, we don't know if he's guilty of this double murder that he was booked for.
- [33:50]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, I mean, that remains to be seen. But there's, there's definitely something suspicious about him. And obviously they have something. They arrested him. Now we don't know what it is, like you said. But I also want to go back to Tony Singh. You know, you hear about this in different cases where someone has an interaction with a person who later is arrested and, or convicted of a murder. In this case, it could be a double murder. And he even said it right, considers himself lucky for making it out of this interaction and should, if this Blodgett guy turns out to be a double murderer, he called the guy polite even.
- [34:37]
Mike Morford
Yeah, who's to say that had he made an agreement with Blodgett like Blodgett was asking for, maybe he would have become his. His third victim. An arrest was announced in the Groton, Connecticut case six weeks after Suzanne Wormser's torso was found in the cemetery. Suzanne's roommate, 68 year old Donald Koffel, has been charged with her murder as well as tampering with physical evidence. And improper disposal of a body. Suzanne's sister called in a tip to authorities on April 16 after seeing a press release about the body found. She hadn't heard from Suzanne in quite some time, and Suzanne hadn't called her sister to wish her a happy birthday in January like she did every year without fail. This, along with tips from residents in the area, prompted investigators to search Suzanne's home on Allen street, less than 1,000ft from the cemetery. Neighbor Stephanie Osine told WFSB.com sue always had the same routine. She always did the same thing. So when I stopped seeing her around the community, I just knew something was wrong.
- [35:42]
Mike Ferguson
Neighbors of Suzanne's also told investigators the identity of her roommate, Donald Koffel. He had once been a neighbor before moving out of state, but when he returned to the area In December of 2024, Suzanne allowed him to live with her because he had nowhere else to go by the time detectives visited her apartment. Kaufel was in the hospital at the time, receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer. When investigators entered the apartment, they found a very obvious crime scene inside Suzanne's home. Investigators found blood everywhere. It was splattered on the walls and the furniture. A bat hidden behind a bloody bookcase had blood and clumps of hair stuck to it. Investigators also found Suzanne's purse, ID card and wallet in a trash bag and some of her clothes in another.
- [36:39]
Mike Morford
Soon after this, a second person came forward with a tip about the murder. They claimed that in early January, Kaufel admitted that he beat Suzanne to death with a baseball bat after he discovered that she stole $200 worth of cocaine from him. After being interrogated three times, Coffle confessed to the murder. According to lawandcrime.com, he seemed exasperated with the whole thing, saying to police, all right, man, I did it. I hit her in the head with a fucking baseball bat, and it cracked her fucking head open. He then lived in the home with her dead body for almost two weeks before he used a handsaw to dismember her remains. The saw was recovered from Suzanne's apartment. Coffles stuffed her torso into the suitcase and distributed the rest of her body parts into two trash bags, which he used different dumpsters to get rid of. Her head and the rest of her body have still not been located. Donald Kaufel is being held on a bond of $1 million. His next court date is scheduled for June 10th.
- [37:36]
Mike Ferguson
So no doubt, morph. I mean, the details of this are horrific. You think about the police finding a baseball bat not only with blood on it, but with clumps of hair. I think that just paints a picture of what type of murder this was. It was very gruesome and nasty. But the other thing that it does is it takes Suzanne's murder kind of off the list of a potential serial killer. And I think, by and large, what we see is, you know, serial killers get a ton of attention. They get Netflix series made about them. But serial killers don't account for the majority of murders. There's a reason why the police immediately look at people closest to the victim. Most often, people are killed by other individuals whom they know or have relationships with. And that seems to be the case here with Suzanne. And we just might find out Morph, as time goes by, some of these other cases, if solved, might point to someone like Kauffel who knew the victim. But some of that will have to come with time.
- [39:03]
Mike Morford
Well, now, Suzanne is the second case we've talked about where there is a suspect, somebody that arrested. And that's starting to, in my eyes, at least, make this narrative of a serial killer that's responsible for all these deaths. It's starting to make that crumble in my mind. I don't know what you're thinking.
- [39:24]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, me too. I mean, less likely because, you know, when it started out, you had a number of women in their 40s, 50s. That seemed like a pattern. Well, now we have somebody in custody for Suzanne's murder, so it's looking like less of a pattern than it was prior to finding out that Donald Kauffel admitted to killing Suzanne Wormser. There hasn't been an arrest in Denise Leary's death, but her friends and family seem to believe that her death was related to some sort of mental health episode or incident. So there may be no one out there to arrest her son. Joshua Webb explained to NBC News that over the summer of 2024, she suffered with mental health and anxiety and really bad depression. Her brother Michael said that he had no idea that she had so much going on in her mind. A statement from the New Haven Police Department regarding Denise's case read, at this time, there is no indication of any criminality in the disappearance and subsequent location of Ms. Leary. It's also been reported that Denise had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
- [40:39]
Mike Morford
Denise's son noticed somewhat erratic behavior from his mother days before reporting her missing. Just before heading out around 10:30 at night, she requested that her son stop tracking her location. At the time, they were living together because they had both moved from Atlanta to Connecticut to take care of Denise's aging parents. He thought the request was odd, but he gave his mom her privacy and stopped tracking her location. He did try to figure out what was going on, though, telling NBC News, I tried to look out the window to see who was picking her up. He was never able to see who picked her up or figure out where she went. But she did come home that night, and everything was fine. This might be a detail that people miss when they're skimming headlines and online discussions about Denise's case. If you think the mysterious person Denise didn't want anyone to know she was with never dropped her back off, it's easy to assume that they might have murdered her. But this isn't what happened. She made it home safely.
- [41:36]
Mike Ferguson
On September 30, Denise's bedroom door was closed that morning. Her son knocked on her door, but there was no answer. Hours later, his grandmother's nurse arrived, and Denise did not come out of her bedroom to meet with her as she always did. According to NBC News, this is when her son Joshua discovered that the door was locked from the inside. He ended up calling 911 and first responders kicked down her door. Denise was not inside. The room was empty. It sounds like Denise's bedroom was on the second floor because investigators found that she apparently used some kind of electrical cord to safely lower herself out the window. Footprints were also found near the home. This all suggests that Denise left the house on her own accord and didn't want anyone else to know.
- [42:30]
Mike Morford
Joshua immediately started tracking Denise's location again. The phone was initially in Westport, Connecticut, but ended up in New Haven half an hour later. The family split up and searched different parks in New Haven, but weren't able to find any sign of her. Denise was reported missing the next morning. Authorities found one of Denise's makeup palettes outside of an abandoned home in her own neighborhood. Again, there was no one inside. Her phone was also found behind a neighbor's house. Her family was worried but never gave up hope. Joshua told NBC News, maybe she's lost and can't find her way back home. And Denise's brother Michael said, I would like to let her know that we love her, we want her home, and get her the help that she needs. Sadly, Denise's family did get some answers, but none of it was good news. An autopsy revealed no signs of foul play, though the cause of death remains undetermined. New Haven Police Department Officer Bruckert made a public statement indicating there's no facts to support this woman was murdered.
- [43:34]
Mike Ferguson
So to this point, we have some answers about some of these victims or at the very least, clues that may suggest something other than foul play. But the rest of the cases are still open, and we don't know yet what happened. We don't even know if most of these cases are homicides, accidents, or something else. Now, if it's true that her body was found in a trash bag, it's safe to assume that Michelle Romano was murdered. But. But Michelle's family has asked that people leave her out of the serial killer narrative if they're going to continue to try and piece it together. They trust law enforcement and are completely confident in following their lead. One family member in the Facebook group Justice for Michelle Romano wrote, we would appreciate it if people on social media, news or other platforms would stop making false statements that our Michelle is in any way the victim of a serial killer. Michelle's last known address was on Hazard Avenue in Warwick. She would occasionally stay there with a friend, Charles Parisi, and would pay him rent for the time she spent there. Investigators have asked that anyone with any kind of video from the 88 Plainfield pike area in February or March come forward and share. This includes dash cam video and footage from trail cameras and even personal drones.
- [45:06]
Mike Morford
So this is still a case that I can't say couldn't be the work of a serial killer. Her remains being found the way they were, it to me pinpoints some kind of violent scenario, whether that be a serial killer or somebody else that murdered. And police are taking this serious and they're trying to track down any kind of video footage that might help them find out who did this to her or put her body where it was found, at least. And that might provide some. Some more answers and maybe eventually someone can be charged.
- [45:44]
Mike Ferguson
But members of her family, they don't want Michelle to be even considered the victim of a serial killer. They're calling those false statements. Now. They may have information that we don't have, but I thought that was. Was pretty interesting.
- [46:02]
Mike Morford
We don't know her cause of death yet, but the area where Megan Meredith was found on a bike path wasn't some super secluded wooded area. It was actually close to the MGM casino and the NBA hall of Fame. Early articles painted the picture of a body dumped in a secluded area or a woman snatched while out on a jog alone. But it doesn't seem out of the question that she fell off her bike or had a medical emergency while out for a walk and died of reasons other than having a run in with a serial killer.
- [46:32]
Mike Ferguson
And again, like I Said Morv. I do think it's natural for some people to kind of just think serial killer right off the bat when you have this number of victims found in, you know, pretty quick succession in somewhat close proximity. But I don't know what the chances are that there's even a serial killer at work here at all. I mean, isn't it more likely that these individuals, those who, it's going to be determined were murdered, were murdered by someone that was at least known to them? And then there's, you know, the thought that some of these aren't even murders. You know, we just talked about Megan. You know, could she have fallen off her bike? Could she have had some type of medical emergency? There's a lot of different possible scenarios with some of these victims.
- [47:30]
Mike Morford
And the police probably look at it from the, the angle of whatever happened to this person. It's likely not a serial killer, whatever the. Whether it's a accident or it is foul play, but it's, it's perhaps someone that the person knew. I think serial killer is just weighed on the, on their list of what they think may be involved in some of these cases.
- [47:58]
Mike Ferguson
Well, and it probably should be just based on statistics. You know, we talked about it. Most people are killed by someone they know. That is just a fact. Doesn't mean that there aren't serial killers, because we know there are. It's just not as common. Over the past several weeks, the New England serial killer group on Facebook has exploded in growth. During our pretty short research period, each article mentioning the group had a higher number of members than the last. Authorities aren't happy with the speculation that goes on in the group and on other sites. According to ctinsider.com Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick called the online speculation about a possible active serial killer fear mongering. And New Haven Police Department Officer Christian Bruckhart told WFSB.com to the people who are avidly investigating, we're hiring. Feel free to come apply. And I think more, if it's understandable, why authorities aren't real happy with people kind of throwing out the serial killer angle. I mean, who wants to have that idea floating around that a serial killer is operating in their locale?
- [49:21]
Midi Health Announcer
No one.
- [49:21]
Mike Morford
Yeah, Facebook groups like this one or Reddit or websleuths have discussed cases like we're talking about for years. And it's only natural. And sometimes these discussions are positive and they lead to tips cases being solved. So I think the, the people in these groups are, you know, they don't. They mean well. And they're doing what's natural talking about these cases. But sometimes the police probably feel like it's a hindrance in some manner.
- [49:56]
Mike Ferguson
Well, and I think just like with any group, right, you have a lot of people who are doing it probably very responsibly, but you're always going to have some people who don't. I mean, that that's just going to happen in any group.
- [50:12]
Mike Morford
Law enforcement agencies do take some of the things posted in these groups very seriously. After multiple tips regarding a certain post which mentioned the burial of multiple bodies, Investigators in Narragansett, R.I. scoured the Scarborough beach area and even brought in cadaver dogs, but found nothing to indicate the post was true. As it turns out, according to turnto10.com the poster claimed to be writing a novel and explained that the post in the group was just a work of fiction. Speaking to CTInsider.com about the Facebook post, Narragansett Detective Sergeant Brent Kuzman said, it drew our attention and we were ready to hit the ground running Monday, but we knew logistically it would have been difficult to hide six bodies there. This kind of thing is what District Attorney Gallooney was talking about in a Fox News interview when he said that these online groups can compromise active investigations and contribute to a sense of chaos that does not reflect the full picture.
- [51:12]
Mike Ferguson
But it is kind of tough, right, to blame the general public for jumping to some of these conclusions. We've all basically learned that historically serial killers were able to operate undetected when they didn't stick to one jurisdiction. A missing persons report from one county may not have been connected to a body found in another. Go across state lines and back in the day, the agencies never would have cooperated and figured out that they were dealing with the same case. For so long, investigators didn't have the full picture. Missing connections and patterns that allowed serial killers to go free and sometimes people to be wrongly convicted. And on top of all of that, this New England area is no stranger to serial killings and unsolved murders.
- [52:04]
Mike Morford
There are multiple serial killers that were active in the New England area in the 1980s, like the New Bedford Highway Killer, the Rhode Island Ripper and the Connecticut River Valley Killer, as well as others who didn't get any catchy nicknames. And wouldn't you want to know if there was a serial killer in your area as soon as possible? Why wait until the victims pile up to acknowledge the issue and keep people safe? J. Paul Vance, a retired state police lieutenant and law enforcement analyst for wfsb, said, if it reaches a point where you need to be concerned. They're going to let you know, they're going to make it public.
- [52:39]
Mike Ferguson
But many people don't trust authorities when it comes to believing there's no threat to the public. If a case is unsolved, how do you truly know that no one else is in danger? How can you really be so sure that you can make that kind of statement with confidence? In Suzanne's murder, police were right. It was a very specific set of circumstances. They were roommates. There was possibly drugs involved. She wasn't just grabbed off the street by a stranger. And when investigators found her alleged killer, he was in the hospital receiving treatment for cancer. It's likely that he was in very bad physical shape. He chose a wheeled suitcase and still made it only about 800ft with it. The crime scene was still covered in blood, and the murder weapon was found hidden at the scene. There were clear indications of what happened. But in all of these other yet unresolved cases, how can we know that there is no ongoing threat and that some of these cases may be linked.
- [53:43]
Mike Morford
Despite all the authorities involved in these cases being sure that the cases aren't related? Hampton County District Attorney Anthony Gallooney will not go as far as to tell people not to be careful. He told Western Mass News, I'm always a proponent of people being aware of their surroundings, no matter where you live or where you are. While there may not be any one New England serial killer actively taking victims, the fact is that some of the people we discussed in these unsolved cases were indeed murdered.
- [54:12]
Mike Ferguson
And I agree with, with what he said wholeheartedly. I think everyone should be aware of their surroundings whether they believe a serial killer is active or not, whether there's been a number of bodies found in their area, I mean, that's just good practice. Sometimes we talk about keeping your head on a swivel. You don't have to be paranoid, but people should be aware of what's going on around them.
- [54:42]
Mike Morford
I think statistically, the likelihood you're ever going to encounter a serial killer is very low. But that doesn't mean that you won't go out to the store and run into a bad person committing a crime or doing something else, that you somehow cross paths with them. So it's good advice to definitely be aware of your surroundings, know what's going on, and always look out for your safety.
- [55:08]
Mike Ferguson
The following agencies are asking for and accepting tips from the public. If you have any information about the murder of Megan Meredith, who was found on the bike Path in Springfield, Massachusetts, you can contact the Springfield Police Department Detective Bureau by calling 413-787-6355 or by texting the number 274637, a message beginning with the word salt.
- [55:35]
Mike Morford
If you have any information about the death of Michelle Romano, you can contact the Rhode Island State police by calling 401-647-8039. If you have any footage from the Plainfield pike area descendant, you can visit archive PH N5STE, which is a shortened link to the Rhode Island State Police Evidence Submission Portal. You'll need to enter your phone number to receive a private link where you can upload your files.
- [56:01]
Mike Ferguson
If you have information about Amanda Grazewski's disappearance or death, you can contact investigators with the Derry Police department by calling 603-432-6111.
- [56:15]
Mike Morford
If you have any information about the disappearance of Eric Wein, you can contact the South Kingstowne Police department by calling 401-783-3321 or emailing policeout kingstown ri.gov and.
- [56:31]
Mike Ferguson
Finally, if you have any information about the disappearances of Sandra Crispo or Brittany McCormick, you can contact Massachusetts State Police by calling 508-894-2600. There are two different rewards in Britney's case. Her family is offering $20,000 for any information that leads to Britney's return and $40,000 for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of anyone involved in Britney's death, if that is, unfortunately, what happened to her. So morph, as we wrap up this episode, you know we titled this one with a question, an Active Serial Killer in New England. Because, you know, that's a theory that many people have put forth for me as we've gone through the episode. Obviously some of these cases have suspects who have been arrested and charged, not yet convicted, but with every piece of detail that we talked about. And granted we don't have a lot of details on some of these, but for me, I'm leaning away from the serial killer theory. It doesn't mean that there's not one out there, but I certainly don't think that the majority of these cases are connected to one serial killer like we talked about. Right. It's much more likely that the majority of people who are murdered are killed by someone they know. At least have some familiarity with serial killers for all the attention that they have gotten over the years, make up a pretty small percentage of all murders committed.
- [58:26]
Mike Morford
Yeah, if all these bodies had turned up in one county or one city, that would be pretty powerful and Hard to explain how that many people are dying in that city. And it might lend credence to the fact there could be a serial killer. But we're talking New England, we're talking hundreds of miles across multiple states. And I think that makes it more likely that these are just a series of deaths that are not connected to each other for the most part. Some may be, but I have a theory that this is happening now because it's springtime. People are going out into the woods, are venturing out, the weather is getting nicer, they're going to find remains out there. Now people themselves are going out of the house and going out to these areas, maybe some of these victims, same thing. The weather's getting nice, they're venturing out into these areas and things are happening. And I tie it all back to the fact that it's springtime and this is. It just so happens to look like a pattern here of connected cases that probably, for the most part, are not connected well.
- [59:39]
Mike Ferguson
And could you also make a case that you could look at a map of the United States, put your finger anywhere on that map and draw a circle, you know, 100 miles out in any direction. And I'm sure you could find a number of disappearances, unsolved murders, but that obviously doesn't mean they're all connected.
- [60:06]
Mike Morford
I think as time goes on, maybe even by the time this episode airs, maybe there'll be some more answers coming in. Autopsy results, persons of interest being sought in some of these cases. You know, things like that that will provide more answers and will help either strengthen a case of a serial killer or just further disintegrate it and make it likely that there is no serial killer.
- [60:34]
Mike Ferguson
But it is one of those situations where we have a number of cases that are ongoing, unfolding at the moment. These aren't super old cold cases. Things are unfolding in real time. So like you said, I think there will be information that comes out that maybe shed some more light on it. Tragic and interesting all at the same time.
- [61:01]
Mike Morford
There's a lot of families here waiting for answers, and I hope they get those answers, whatever they may be. What, you know, whoever's responsible, however these things unfolded, you know, you always want the family to get answers, and I hope the police are able to. To provide them. And we'll just have to stay tuned for updates and. And see what happens with these cases.
- [61:21]
Mike Ferguson
But that's it for our episode about what is really a large number of disappearances, possible murders, actual murders around the New England area. If you love the show, but haven't done so yet. Take a minute, go out, give us a rating, leave a review. Also, keep telling your friends. Word of mouth about the podcast really helps us out.
- [61:48]
Mike Morford
If you want to find us on social media, we're on X with the handle riminologypod. You can also find us on Facebook by going to facebook.com criminologypodcast and you can join our Facebook discussion group, Criminology Podcast Discussion and fans.
- [62:04]
Mike Ferguson
So that's it for another episode of Criminology. But Morph and I will be back with all of you next Saturday night with a brand new episode. So until then, for Mike and and Morph, we'll talk to you next week.
- [62:14]
Mike Morford
Take care everyone.
- [62:39]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
It.