Police have broken their silence after the discovery of an eighth body in New England, as fears spiral online that a serial killer could be behind the growing number of unexplained deaths across the region.
Woman found dead near Springfield bike path
The most recent case emerged on Tuesday (April 22) when a woman was found unresponsive near a bike path on Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. Despite the efforts of emergency responders, she was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival.
Springfield Police confirmed the case is now being treated as an “unattended death,” with a homicide investigation underway pending results from a post-mortem examination.
Spokesperson Ryan Walsh said the force’s homicide unit, under the direction of Captain Trent Duda, is working alongside the Hampden District Attorney’s murder unit to establish what happened. No details have yet been released about the woman’s identity or how she died.
Eight deaths, one growing theory
The woman’s death brings the total number of unexplained or suspicious fatalities in the area to eight — most of them believed to be women — found across Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island in the past two months.
So far, human remains have been discovered in New Haven, Norwalk, Groton and Killingly in Connecticut; Foster in Rhode Island; and Framingham, Plymouth and now Springfield in Massachusetts. The pattern, along with the close timing, has sparked wild speculation online that a serial killer may be responsible.
Police push back on online rumours
Both Springfield Police and Connecticut State Police have issued statements dismissing the claims, urging the public not to spread fear. “Internet rumours are just that,” Walsh told Fox News Digital, while state police in Connecticut insisted there is “no information at this time suggesting any connection” between the cases and “no known threat to the public.”
Despite that, online speculation has intensified. A Facebook group originally named “New England Serial Killer” helped fuel the theory, attracting tens of thousands of new members in recent weeks before being renamed to comply with platform rules.
Cautious wording raising eyebrows
Experts say the language used by police — or more importantly, what’s been left out — may be contributing to the speculation. Peter Valentin, a former state trooper and chair of forensic science at the University of New Haven, told Fox that police seem deliberately vague.
“The article is filled with very cautious language,” he said, suggesting investigators may be downplaying the risk while they gather evidence. “That might be intentional to not feed into what is now turning into intense scrutiny over every suspicious death in New England.”
Cause of death still unknown
For now, the woman found in Springfield remains unnamed, and the exact circumstances of her death remain unclear. But with multiple women found dead across state lines in a short span of time, and no definitive answers from officials, the question hanging over New England still remains: is it tragic coincidence, or something much darker?
