New Bedford Highway Killer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Bedford Highway Killer | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Victims | 11 |
Span of crimes | March 1988 – April 1989 |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Bedford, Massachusetts |
Date apprehended | Unapprehended |
The New Bedford Highway Killer is an unidentified serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least nine women and the disappearances of two additional women in New Bedford, Massachusetts, between March 1988 and April 1989.[1] The killer is also suspected to have assaulted numerous other women. All the killer's victims were known sex workers or had struggles with addiction. While the victims were taken from New Bedford, they were all found in different surrounding towns, including Dartmouth, Freetown and Westport, along Massachusetts Route 140.[2]
- Robbin Lynn Rhodes, 29, was found on March 28, 1989, along Massachusetts Route 140 southbound in Freetown by a search dog. She is believed to have gone missing sometime in March or April 1988. Rhodes had previously dated suspect Kenneth Ponte. While she was never involved in prostitution, she knew many of the other victims and was friends with victim Mary Rose Santos.[3]
- Rochelle Clifford Dopierala, 28, of Falmouth, disappeared sometime during late April 1988. Her body was found on December 10, 1988, in a gravel pit along Reed Road beneath a tree grove, about two miles from Interstate 195 by people riding ATVs. She was partially clothed and had been beaten to death. She had dated and stayed at the home of suspect Kenneth Ponte, who was arrested for her murder. This was the only time charges were brought in this case. Rochelle had testified against another man who had raped her, but he is not suspected in this case. She was last seen with victim Nancy Paiva's boyfriend, an ex-convict. He was cleared in both deaths and is not a suspect.[3]
- Deborah Lynn McConnell, 25, of Newport, was last seen sometime in May 1988 by her father after the funeral of her mother at the local cemetery. She is believed to have been the third victim. Her body was found on December 1, 1988, off Massachusetts Route 140 northbound in Freetown, through a cadaver dog search. She was found nude with a bra wrapped around her neck.[3]
- Debra Medeiros, 29, of Fall River, was last seen by her boyfriend in New Bedford after a fight and was reported missing on May 27, 1988. She was the first of the bodies found and was identified in December 1988. Her body was found on July 3, 1988, by a woman who went to relieve herself just in the woods on the side of the road on Massachusetts Route 140. Her remains were severely decomposed with her body positioned on her back with her feet pointed towards the highway. Her cause of death was strangulation; she had a bra wrapped around her neck. Her boyfriend was ruled out as a suspect.[3]
- Christina Monteiro, 19, was last seen sometime in May 1988 and has not been heard from since.[3]
- Marilyn Cardoza-Roberts, 34, was last seen sometime in June 1988 and has not been heard from since. She was reported missing in December 1988. She was neighbors with Monteiro.[3]
- Nancy Lee Paiva, 36, of New Bedford, was last seen walking home from a bar called Whisper’s Pub on July 7, 1988, after a reported fight with her boyfriend in the South End in the early hours of the morning. Her nude body was discovered beside Interstate 195 in Dartmouth on July 30, 1988, by two men who were riding motorcycles. Her body was found in the same position as victim Debra Medeiro's – on her back with her feet pointing towards the highway. Nancy's cause of death was also believed to be strangulation. Her boyfriend is not a suspect in her death.[3]
- Debra Greenlaw Demello, 35, was last seen in New Bedford, on July 11, 1988. Her body was found off the eastbound Reed Road ramp of Interstate 195 by a state highway crew on November 8, 1988. Debra's nude body was in an area with trees with her clothing strewn in the branches. She was found with some belongings of another victim, Nancy Paiva.[3]
- Mary Rose Santos, 26, of New Bedford, was dropped off on July 16, 1988, by her husband, with whom she had recently reconciled, near the downtown bus station and last seen dancing at The Old Quarterdeck Lounge five hours later. Santos’ nude body was found with a beer bottle on March 31, 1989, along Massachusetts Route 88 in Westport by two boys. Suspect Kenneth Ponte had represented Santos in a civil case and helped her husband make flyers after her disappearance.[3]
- Sandra Botelho, 24, reportedly left her apartment on August 11, 1988, at 11 p.m. and never returned. She was the final body found, located in the woods along Interstate 195 in Marion on April 24, 1989. Her body was nude and reportedly was folded into a fetal position.[3]
- Dawn Mendes, 25, was last seen in New Bedford, on September 4, 1988, walking from her apartment to a family christening party. Her body was found on November 29, 1988, on the westbound Reed Road ramp off Interstate 195 by a search dog. There were mostly skeletal remains but her hand was able to yield a fingerprint which led to her being identified.[3]