As authorities in three New England states scramble to investigate a string of unsettling discoveries, families of two women—Denise Leary and Michele Romano—are left grieving without answers.
Both Black women disappeared months ago and were found dead this spring, their remains joining at least four other bodies recovered across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island within just over a month.
The deaths of Leary and Romano have drawn increased attention as online communities speculate whether a serial killer may be operating across state lines, a theory authorities have so far downplayed.
The Victims: Denise Leary and Michele Romano
Denise Leary, 59, was reported missing from New Haven, Connecticut, in September last year. Her decomposed remains were discovered on March 20 in a wooded area near a residential neighborhood, police confirmed.
The body was identified five days later.
New Haven authorities noted that Leary had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, though no official cause of death has been released. Her disappearance had gone largely under the radar until her body was found, nearly six months later, under what some locals described as suspicious circumstances.
Less than a week later, on March 26, authorities in Foster, Rhode Island, confirmed the body of Michele Romano, 56, had been located in a wooded area not far from her last known location.
Romano had also disappeared in 2023—eight months before she was found. Rhode Island law enforcement have said her death is being investigated under “suspicious circumstances.”
A local resident told WJAR that his dog had been drawn to the site for weeks before the body was officially located. “He’s always sniffing over that way,” he said, adding an eerie layer to a case now wrapped in uncertainty.
A Pattern Emerging?
In addition to Leary and Romano, four other sets of remains have been found:
- March 6: The body of Paige Fannon, 35, was pulled from the Norwalk River in Connecticut. She had been missing since early March.
- March 19: A woman aged 40 to 60 was found stuffed in a suitcase near a cemetery in Groton, Conn.
- March 6: Unidentified human remains—including a partial skull—were found in Plymouth, Mass., by a hunter.
- April 9: Unidentified remains were discovered in Killingly, Conn., with no gender or identity released.
All of the towns are within a roughly 180-mile radius and within a few hours’ drive of one another, creating a geographic cluster that’s fueling speculation online.
Police Cautious, But Public Speculates
Despite the mounting number of cases, police departments across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have urged the public not to jump to conclusions. Many officials have explicitly stated there’s no evidence linking the cases—though few specifics have been released.
Still, that hasn’t stopped amateur sleuths from digging deeper.
Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook have become hubs for public discussion. A private Facebook group titled “New England SK”—short for “serial killer”—has attracted thousands of members who are pooling resources, tracking disappearances, and mapping body discovery sites.
The group has quickly become a sounding board for theories, timelines, and leaked details, despite a lack of confirmation from law enforcement.
A Call for Transparency
For the families of Denise Leary and Michele Romano, the silence from authorities is deafening. Though both cases are under active investigation, no arrests have been made and few updates have followed since their remains were recovered.
With six sets of human remains found in just over a month—and two of them belonging to women who vanished in 2023—residents across New England are left to wonder: Are these tragic coincidences, or signs of a broader, darker pattern?
For now, all they can do is wait—and hope that someone, somewhere, will connect the dots before another name is added to the list.
