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New England serial killer fears stoked by 13th body found in small town · Murder Files Unsealed

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the deep dive. Today we're taking a look
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beneath the surface, beneath that picturesque image of New England,
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you know, one of America's most historic and well seemingly
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safest regions. Our journey starts, maybe surprisingly not in some
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gritty city center, but in Milton, Massachusetts, probably know it,
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colonial architecture, biggest states, that very quiet, very New England
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kind of safety.
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Speaker 2: Right known for safety, not tragedy exactly.
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Speaker 1: But June first, twenty twenty five, that illusion was just
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shattered completely.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the pivot point, isn't it. That's what the
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sources really hone in on the day they found twenty
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one year old Adriana Swazzo. Her body was discovered in
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a wooded area near one hundred and forty three Central Avenue.
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And the scene itself, I mean, it's described as peaceful, leafy,
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sort of remote, but it immediately became sinister because the
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circumstances well, they felt horrifyingly familiar to investigators across what
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four different states by then.
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Speaker 1: It's the sheer weight of it, the repetition and the
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pace of discovery that makes this period March through June
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of twenty twenty five, just so terrifying. Adriani Swazzo was
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the thirteenth unexplained death across New England since early March thirteen,
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thirteen bodies found in less than four months, often in
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these really disturbing settings, you know, wooded areas, near water.
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Speaker 2: Water graves.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's statistic alone. It doesn't just wreck the region's
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idyllic image. It's fueled this very real fear. You hear
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it everywhere that there's a serial predator or maybe even
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several operating across state lines totally unchecked.
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Speaker 2: And that's really the goal of this deep dive today,
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isn't it. We're trying to pull out the essential facts,
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the critical insights from all the sources you've gathered. You
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need to look at the timeline. It's brutal, it speeds up.
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We need to understand the human stories these victims. It's
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incredibly painful. Then there's the official response, or maybe the
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lack of one, the pushback from law enforcement, and of
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course how the public is reacting, especially online in this
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digital age. So as of today September twenty second, twenty
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twenty five, we really need to unpack how this crisis
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developed and why why despite this overwhelming number of cases,
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the truth still feels so so out of reach.
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Speaker 1: Okay, let's get into it.
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Speaker 2: Then.
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Speaker 1: Let's start with the scope what law enforcement calls the
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geographic scope of this crisis.
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Speaker 2: Well, New England it's always kind of relied on its reputation,
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hasn't it as a haven, you know, the colonial charm,
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the tight knit communities right safe like you said, yeah,
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a place where you know, major violent crime feels like
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something that happens elsewhere. But the sources show really clearly
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those same communities they're now grappling with this this pervasive
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sense of dread.
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Speaker 1: It's overwhelming and it's driven by the numbers. The sheer
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volume is just staggering. Thirteen bodies surfacing between early March
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and early June twenty twenty five. It's an incredibly alarming rate.
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And so many of these finds they share that chilling
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element found in remote natural areas, woods, wherever, banks, quiet ponds.
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What jumps out immediately when you look at a map
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of where these discos whatever's happened, is that it's not contained, right,
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not one town, not even one police jurisdiction. And that
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fact seems absolutely central to the whole mystery.
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Speaker 2: The geographic area. It's actually relatively small, roughly seventy miles
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I think, the sources said, But it covers parts of
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four states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and even Maine.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's spread. That's the core contradiction we really
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have to analyze here. For the public. I mean, seventy miles,
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that's nothing easy drive Exactly. A killer could easily manage
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that drive. You've got I ninety five route three major corridors.
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So the public fear immediately jumps to okay, single serial
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killer moving across borders using what quick travel times New
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England offers. But law enforcement they've used this exact same
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geographic spread what eleven towns and four states as their
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main argument against a serial killer. So how can seventy
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miles be manageable for the public's fear but vast to
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the police.
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Speaker 2: Well, it comes down to bureaucracy, doesn't it. That's the
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crucial nugget. The sources point to the killer maybe intentionally,
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maybe just by chance, could be exploiting an administrative loophole.
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The official line is, well, this geography defies typical serial patterns.
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Killers usually have a comfort zone, right, familiar areas. But
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the deeper insight here maybe is that while seventy miles
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is a quick drive for a person, it represents four
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completely separate criminal justice systems, four state police forces, multiple das.
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That creates friction, red tape, delays, and sharing information. It's
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a seam potentially that an offender could operate within.
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Speaker 1: So the fear comes from the proximity, how close these
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places feel, But the official denial comes from the lack
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of a single, neat jurisdictional boundary. And what's really striking
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reading the sources for today September twenty twenty five, investigations
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are ongoing everywhere, Yes, but there's no unified task force,
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no central command coordinating these thirteen deaths.
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Speaker 2: And that lack of coordination is critical. It means, you know,
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the police department in Plymouth, Massachusetts and the one way
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up in Enfield, main they might be working on totally
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different assumptions, to different timelines, different priorities. That jurisdictional independence,
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it just leaves every community from the Boston suburbs to
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the quietest main lake Town completely on edge. And the
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real connection, or maybe the lack of one, it's still
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elusive obscured by those state.
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Speaker 1: Lines, and sources really show that without a clear, unified
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answer from authorities, the public's imagination and frankly their fear
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just rushes in to fill that void.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely, which brings us straight to the timeline, the terrifying
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pace of these discoveries.
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Speaker 1: Okay, so the timeline, the sources kind of frame it
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as this nightmare that began almost quietly, sort of a whimper,
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back in March. It started ominously March sixth, Plymouth, Massachusetts,
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hikers find a human skull unidentified. Yeah, just in the
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woods off Rout three.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, Plymouth historic spot, summer destination, finding skeletal remains there.
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It immediately casts this dark shadow.
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Speaker 1: And then just five days later, the second.
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Speaker 2: Discovery, right March eleventh, the body of Michelle Romano. She
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was fifty six, found in Foster, Rhode Island. Now she'd
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actually been missing since August of the previous year, twenty
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twenty four. Okay, Her case immediately became a flashpoint for rumors.
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Her family they quickly put out statements you know, online,
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saying her passing was in no way related to any
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type of serial killer. They wanted privacy understandable, totally but
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the timing and the location another remote New England spot,
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it just stoked that initial unease significantly. You know, their
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efforts to control the narrative were just overridden by the
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public's hunger to see a pattern.
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Speaker 1: But March, yeah, that was just the warning shot, wasn't it.
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April the sources of show April was the deluge. That's
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when speculation really turned into well outright panic. Yeah. We
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had multiple fines crossing state lines now really starting to
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cement that cross border mystery feeling. April ninth, unidentified remains
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found in killing Lee, Connecticut, right near the Rhode Island border.
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Another isolated rural area wooded, and.
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Speaker 2: Then the cases started creeping closer to population centers. April twentieth,
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a body pulled from the Seaconk River that's in Pawtucket,
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Rhode Island.
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Speaker 1: Patelli. That's basically Providence right, the.
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Speaker 2: Suburb exactly a first ring suburb of the state capitol.
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So finding a body in a major waterway there, it
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sent shockwaves out to the smaller towns like, Okay, this
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danger isn't just confined to the deep woods anymore.
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Speaker 1: The end of April was particularly gruesome. Two separate discoveries
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On the same day, April twenty seventh, double.
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Speaker 2: Finds Yeah Yeah, remains found in the Connecticut River near
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Rocky Hill, Connecticut. And then another unidentified body found in
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the woods over in Taunton, Massachusetts.
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Speaker 1: And just five days before that, April twenty second, Megan Meredith,
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forty five years old, found near a bike path in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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That really solidified that terrible pattern, didn't it. Women being
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discovered in these remote or recreational settings, places people are
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supposed to feel safe. The sheer rate five bodies basically
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in the second half of April alone, that felt unprecedented.
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Speaker 2: And it didn't let up. The horror just kept intensifying
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right through May. May tenth, partial remains washed up near
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the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut, echoing those earlier Watery
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Grave discovery.
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Speaker 1: Partial remains again Yeah. And then five days later May fifteenth,
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in Danielson, Connecticut, another set of partial remains, and the
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source material mentions this highly concerning detail a chilling hint
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of possible dismemberment. Okay, let's pause on that dismemberment, even
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hint of it. What does that signal to investigators? Why
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is that detail so significant.
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Speaker 2: Well, from a forensic standpoint, it's critical the presence of
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dismemberment or even just partial remains, It often signals a
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high degree of organization, premeditation. It usually means the perpetrator
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took deliberate steps to conceal the victim's identity, maybe delay
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the discovery, make identification much harder. It's terrifying for investigators
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because it suggests a calculated effort to evade justice, not
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just an impulsive act.
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Speaker 1: Right, calculated planned, Yeah, and may closed out with Jasmine
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Wilkes h thirty four years old, found a New Haven's
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Edgewood Park on May thirtieth. And what's unsettling about her case?
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The force's note is that there were no immediate signs
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of foul play. Yeah, but she still fit that unnerving
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pattern of unexplained female deaths in the region.
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Speaker 2: That ambiguity. That's exactly what fuels the public fear, isn't
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it When a body's found in a park, maybe some
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more public. But the official report says no immediate signs
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of trauma, it leaves open the possibility that the killer
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used methods that don't leave obvious marks, you know, maybe poisoning,
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maybe suffocation, that lack of clarity is often scarier than
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obvious violence because it suggests stealth planning, and that's where
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the police really struggled to convince the public these cases
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aren't connected when the cause isn't immediately clear.
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Speaker 1: Which leads us right back to June. First, the catalyst
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we started with Whydrianna Swazo twenty one, found in Milden,
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the thirteenth discovery.
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Speaker 2: The sources say she was originally from Dorchester, found by
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someone just passing by around eleven point four to five
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in the morning, and again no obvious trauma toxicology autopsy
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pending that thirteenth discovery. That's what really pushed this whole
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narrative into the mainstream national media, wasn't it. It really did,
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But the discoveries didn't stop in June. The July third case.
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That one is absolutely key because it provided the first
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and so far the only definitive evidence of homicide linked
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to this whole geographic window. Sunshine Sunshine s Any Stewart, Yeah,
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forty eight years old, a paddle border found in Crawford
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Pond up in Maine hours after she launched her board.
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Her death was confirmed weeks later as strangulation crangulation.
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Speaker 1: That's incredibly personal, hands on violence. What was the impact
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of that confirmed calculated homicide up in Maine.
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Speaker 2: It brought just raw, undeniable terror, especially to Enfield, small population.
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I think it's only about four hundred residents.
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Speaker 1: Ah, tiny place, tiny.
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Speaker 2: And until then officials could Tinda Hedge right, talk about
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pending autopsies or suspected drownings. Stuart's case, it just eliminated
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all ambiguity. Right, Calculated violence against vulnerable women is active
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in this region, and the fact that it happened during
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something so commonplace like paddle boarding and was solved relatively
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quickly as a homicide, it just added this new layer
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of panic even more than the earlier, more ambiguous cases had.
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Speaker 1: And the latest edition we have in our sources spring
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is closer to now September twenty second unidentified remains found
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in Framingham, Massachusetts on August fifteenth. Yeah, this continued drip, yeah,
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drip of bodies being found even after that initial rush.
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It just keeps that cycle of fear and speculation churning,
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doesn't it It does.
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Speaker 2: And the analytical point here, and this really gets at
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why law enforcement is under such intense pressure, is that
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this period, This whole stretch is fundamentally different from the
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typical body recovery narrative.
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Speaker 1: Okay, how so because they do mention the spring thaw thing, right, and.
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Speaker 2: We should clarify that spring thaw you know, refers to
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melting snow high water runoff in the spring. It often
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does expose victims who might have died over the winter,
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hidden by snow or ice. That happens, But thirteen bodies,
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many female, many in remote locations, showing signs ranging from
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confirmed homicide by strangulation to suspected stealth attacks where the
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cause is still pending, all in under four months. That rate,
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regardless of how each case is finally classified, that defines
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this period as a profound crisis. It's not just business
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as usual for recovery.
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Speaker 1: It's the rate and the locations combined. That's what makes
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it feel calculated, deliberate, even if the cases are still
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officially disconnected. Exactly, we need to move beyond just the
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timeline now though, when you talk about the human cost,
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because these aren't just numbers, they're specific tragedies, and those
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stories are feeding this public narrative.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, when you drill down past just the tally,
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the thirteen bodies, you realize the immense human toll and
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the painful patterns start to emerge. The victims. Yes, they
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span a broad age range from twenty one year old
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Adriana Suazo up to someone age sixty eight, but there's
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a stark pattern and it's difficult to ignore.
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Speaker 1: Okay, our sources really highlight this. Most of the victims
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are women, and many appear to be from marginalized backgrounds,
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specifically noting black and Latina women like Adriana Suaso and
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Jasmine Wilkes. That pattern, the victimology that's critical, isn't it
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for a late person? Okay, it's a tragic statistic. But
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why is victimology the idea of consistent targeting of certain groups?
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Why is that so important to investigators and why does
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it fuel public suspicions so intensely.
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Speaker 2: Well, victimology is critical because consistent targeting of vulnerable or
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marginalized groups, that's a common modus operandi and mo for
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serial offenders. If a killer targets individuals who are maybe
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perceived as being overlooked by society or maybe leading high
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risk lifestyles, they often assume they have more time before
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the disappearance is even noticed, let alone seriously investigated. So
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this pattern of vulnerable women, it fuels the public's anxiety
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that these individuals were targeted precisely because they might be
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less protected or their cases might not get the same
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immediate attention.
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Speaker 1: Let's look at some of the specific stories that the
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ones that have really resonated and amplified this fear across
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the whole region. Adriana Suazo, her sister Maria started to
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GoFundMe and her words were everywhere.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. She described Adrian as a firecracker, full of life,
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loved dancing, celebrated her Dominican heritage, she dreamed of going
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to community college.
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Speaker 1: Just heartbreaking it is.
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Speaker 2: And the discovery of a vibrant young life cut short
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like that found in a seemingly safe, even wealthy Milton
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Wooded area, it just hits differently than finding remains of
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someone who maybe you know, was estranged from family or
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had been missing a long time. The grief Maria captured
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talking about Adriana's dreams, it makes the tragedy so intensely relatable, devastating.
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Speaker 1: You have Megan Meredith in Springfield, the dedicated nurse found
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near a bike path while she was out for routine jog.
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Speaker 2: That detail, the routine jog, it just strips away any
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idea that these victims weren't necessarily putting themselves in an
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inherently dangerous situation. You know, Meredith was doing something millions
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to people do every single day, for health, for recreation.
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The fact that this happened on a public recreational path,
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it makes everyone who uses those public spaces feel vulnerable instantly.
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It makes the threat feel random, pervasive.
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Speaker 1: And Jasmine Wilkes, founded in New Haven's Edgewood Park, left
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behind two kids, worked at a local diner. Her mother's quote,
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it just perfectly captures the feeling of all these grieving families,
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doesn't it.
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Speaker 2: It really does. She said she didn't deserve this, None
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of them did, and that that's the heart of this
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community crisis. The victimology itself, it naturally fuels public suspicion,
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especially when you combine it with expert commentary.
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Speaker 1: Like doctor Duprie. Yes, exactly, doctor Michelle Dupree. She's a
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former medical examiner also a detective. She weighed in on
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News Nation, and she noted that foundational printcle of criminology.
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Most serial killers are male and target females.
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Speaker 2: So when the public sees a pattern where most of
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these unexplained deaths are women, regardless of the official cause
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being pending, they're going to connect those dots. It's almost inevitable.
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Speaker 1: In the communities, they're binding together over this shared fear,
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this shared grief. We're seeing public vigils everywhere, right, like
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those flickering candles near the discovery site in Milton. It
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feels like a collective trauma linking families across state lines. Now, yeah,
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and that fear, it's not just local anymore, it's gone viral,
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has changed daily life. That quote you mentioned from the
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Rhode Island mother on TikTok it sums up the new
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reality perfectly. We're all afraid to let our daughters walk alone.
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Speaker 2: Wow, this crisis has fundamentally altered behavior, which means we
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really need to look at the historical context here. Why
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is New England so sensitive perhaps to this specific kind
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of terror.
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Speaker 1: Right to really get a handle on the current panic,
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we have to remember New England isn't exactly new to
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this kind of darkness, is it?
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Speaker 2: No?
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Speaker 1: Note at all, these discoveries they echo at least two
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major historical crime waves or theories that are now resurfacing
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in the public mind, making this current crisis feel like
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like history repeating itself.
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Speaker 2: The first and probably the most direct parallel people are
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drawing is the Connecticut River Valley Killer the CRVK, active
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from what nineteen seventy eight to nineteen eighty eight, This
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killer claimed at least seven lives, predominantly young women, and
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their bodies were often dumped in remote areas along the
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river its tributaries, mostly in New Hampshire and Vermont.
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Speaker 1: Back then, what specifics from the CRVK case are really
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striking a cord now.
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Speaker 2: Well, it's the locale. Primarily. You had victims like Catherine
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Milliken found with I think it was twenty nine stab
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wounds near a New Hampshire wetland, Linda Moore attacked in
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her Vermont home. The similarity is stark using remote wooded
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discovery sites targeting young women.
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Speaker 1: Okay, but criminologists are pointing out a key contrast too.
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The CERVK seemed to stick to more familiar locales, often
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relying on the remoteness of the site itself for disposal,
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whereas these twenty twenty five sites they seem more scattered,
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more diverse, moving from bike paths to city parks to
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deep woods across four states, different pattern geographically. Yeah. And
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there's the other theory, the one that, Okay, it's largely
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been debunked by experts, but it just keeps resurfacing every
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time a body is found near water.
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Speaker 2: This smiley face killing.
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Speaker 1: The smiley face killer's theory from the nineties to two thousands.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, this theory claimed, you know that some organized group
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was responsible for drowning young men in waterways all across
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the Midwest and the Northeast, including Boston's Charles River right here,
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and the source material notes with every harbor body discovery. Now,
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this theory just pops right back up, amplified of course
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by online sleuths.
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Speaker 1: Why does it keep coming back if it's debunked.
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Speaker 2: Well, I think it's because people crave explanations, right, especially
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for seemingly random deaths like drownings, The idea of a
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coordinated group, even a sinister one, can sometimes feel strangely
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more comforting or at least more comprehensible than just pure
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random tragedy or accident. Even if most forensic experts had
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dismissed the actual evidence for the theory, It keeps nerves frayed,
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keeps that suspicion alive.
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Speaker 1: And we can't ignore the more recent verifiable dark history either,
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that twenty twenty three dismemberment case in Connecticut. It's a
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stark reminder that really calculated violent crime is absolutely ongoing.
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Speaker 2: In the region right The whole area is just primed
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for panic. I saw one Reddit user comment that summed
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it up perfectly. Spring thaw always brings bodies, but thirteen,
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that's not coincidence, that's a pattern, demanding an answer, and
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that user hits on the fundamental shift because in twenty
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twenty five, that fear it wasn't just shared locally, you know,
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at town meetings or vigils. It was amplified globally instantly
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by digital platforms that the sources show fear spreading way
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faster than forensic facts, leading to this phenomenon. You could
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call it digital panic, and it's seriously taxing law enforcement resources.
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Speaker 1: Okay, tell us about that digital impact. I was genuinely
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shocked reading about the scale of the online coordination slewthing.
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Speaker 2: The volume is just staggering and it's a real double
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edged sort. Take that Facebook group New England sk for
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serial killer. It apparently ballooned to over sixty eight thousand
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members by mid June, sixty eight thousand people. They're essentially
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crowdsourcing and investigation sharing maps, creating really detailed theories, pushing
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unverified tips.
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Speaker 1: Sixty eight thousand people coordinating online without any official guidance.
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What are the tangible downsides of that kind of digital fervor?
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Speaker 2: Well, the major downside, according to the sources, it's the
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critical drain on official resources. They explicitly mention one case
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where an anonymous confession got shared widely online. Yeah, and
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it prompted this massive but ultimately feudile police search in
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Rhode Island that pulls officers, time, money away from potentially
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real leads.
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Speaker 1: And it's not just Facebook, right, TikTok sloths are racking
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up millions of views, making detailed timelines, even suspect sketches
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based on pretty thin evidence. You know, Twitter's constantly by.
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Speaker 2: The constantly mass daily news put out an alert in
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August about the thirteenth body in Milton, sparked huge traffic
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and Mario noov falls x thread on Adriana Swizo's death specifically,
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it got over seven hundred and eighty six thousand views,
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quickly blending known facts with just heavy speculation and honestly
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fear mongering.
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Speaker 1: And this digital activity adds another layer too, doesn't it
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The racial undertones of the victimology that's crucial. BT highlighted
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this specific concern Adriana Suazo, a black woman found amidst
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this string of similar cases involving marginalized groups. When official
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sources aren't offering quick answers or seem uncoordinated, communities of
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color naturally look at the patterns who is being targeted?
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And then the rightly question, you know, would the pace
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of the official investigation be the same if the victims
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were all wealthy white residents from high profile suburbs.
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Speaker 2: But this whole online deep dive into true crime, it
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has a really dangerous cost. Northeastern Universities James Allen Fox
21:53
warned about this specifically.
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Speaker 1: Yeah. Fox's warning is critical here. He basically says, this
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online reality entertainment distorts actual reality. It turns simple coincidences
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like maybe two people tragically drowning months apart in totally
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separate states, into these massive, overarching conspiracies. The public starts
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acting on fear, on confirmation bias. Yeah, not an actual
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forensic evidence, and that makes the job of the real
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police officers exponentially harder, which brings us to this stark
22:18
divide the diconomy between that viral online fear and the
22:23
official stance from police. Couldn't be clearer, could it. No,
22:26
it's night and day. Law enforcement's position has been remarkably uniform,
22:30
very firm, very consistent. They are saying there's no single
22:34
serial killer connecting these cases, period, and that's across the board.
22:39
Speaker 2: Seems to be Norfolk DA Michael Morrisey, commenting specifically on
22:44
the Adriana Swazio case in Milton, was very clear. He said, yes,
22:48
the case is active and ongoing, but quote no information
22:51
suggesting connection to the others.
22:53
Speaker 1: Okay.
22:54
Speaker 2: In Connecticut State Police they echoed that exact sentiment for
22:58
the fines in their state, stating there's no known threat
23:01
to the public.
23:01
Speaker 1: Okay, But I have to push back on that a
23:03
bit based on what we've read in the sources. If
23:05
the cause of death is still pending for what maybe
23:08
half these victims, Yeah, as the sources indicate, how can
23:11
law enforcement definitively state there's no connection. Doesn't it feel
23:14
like aren't they maybe using the varying causes and the
23:18
vast geography is kind of a convenient shield before the
23:20
toxicology reports or even back.
23:22
Speaker 2: That is exactly the question the sources are raising, and
23:24
it's the question the public is asking. The official rationale
23:28
for denial really rests on two main pillars, and you
23:31
could argue those pillars are designed to protect both the
23:33
investigation and the public from widespread panic. Okay, Pillar one,
23:38
the vast geography. They keep citing the eleven towns across
23:41
four states, arguing this defies the typical comfort zones that
23:45
serial killers supposedly stick to. You know, killers usually stay
23:48
closer to home, logistical ease, familiarity with the area.
23:52
Speaker 1: Okay.
23:52
Speaker 2: And the second pillar, the second pillar is the varying
23:54
causes of death, and this is where that police denial
23:57
feels most vulnerable to public skepticism. Yeah, yes, okay, we
24:01
have one confirmed homicide by strangulation Sunshine Stewart and Maine
24:06
Clearmo there, but for many of the other victims, the
24:08
cause of death is officially pending or it's suspected to
24:11
be unrelated incidents, drownings, maybe natural deaths found later.
24:16
Speaker 1: Right, So if the the modus operandi is inconsistent across
24:20
the cases. The official line is, well, then the deaths
24:24
must be unrelated, but pending autopsies mean the MO is unknown,
24:29
not necessarily inconsistent. Ah, good point.
24:32
Speaker 2: The police might be relying on preliminary observations from the scene,
24:36
which can often change completely after a full toxicological screen
24:39
comes back weeks or months later.
24:41
Speaker 1: So there's definitely an element of let's say, public relations
24:44
management shaping that official denial.
24:46
Speaker 2: You could certainly argue that, but the public.
24:48
Speaker 1: Isn't really buying it, and that skepticism is being fueled
24:51
by experts like doctor Dupre Again.
24:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, she offers that crucial counterpoint. She speculates maybe the
24:57
police are withholding certain details intentionally, perhaps to avoid copycats,
25:02
or maybe just to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
25:05
If they do suspast a link, which is standard procedure,
25:08
it is, yeah, standard tactic insensitive high profile cases. But
25:12
what's powerful about her statement is the emphasis on the
25:14
sheer volume. She says, thirteen in a small area, too
25:18
much coincidence. That volume, to her and to many others,
25:22
demands scrutiny, regardless of the official denials. And this is
25:26
why people are starting to demand a coordinated response, and.
25:29
Speaker 1: That public scrutiny it's translated into concrete demands for action. Now,
25:33
the sources mentioned growing calls for a multi state task force.
25:37
You've got X users actively tagging governor's state attorneys general
25:42
demanding regional coordination.
25:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're essentially trying to force the states to acknowledge
25:47
the combined total right not just look at their own
25:50
individual tallies in isolation.
25:52
Speaker 1: And all that intense pressure, it led to this brief moment,
25:55
didn't it, where it almost felt like an answer was coming.
25:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, almost euphoric for a bit. Maybe there was that
26:01
temporary connection made to Donald Koffel. He was a sixty
26:03
eight year old man confessed to a completely separate murder
26:07
before he died in custody. Okay, and for a short
26:09
time it really felt like, Okay, maybe law enforcement has
26:12
their guy. Maybe this offers a centralized explanation for at
26:15
least some of these cases.
26:16
Speaker 1: That lead just collapsed.
26:18
Speaker 2: It did the sources confirm it, the connection to these
26:21
thirteen New England cases. It ultimately died with him. It
26:25
just quote fizzled without evidence.
26:28
Speaker 1: Wow. The frustration for those communities watching this play out
26:32
that brief hope then back to uncertainty must.
26:35
Speaker 2: Have been immense, absolutely, and it just reinforces that feeling
26:38
right that the states are either unable or maybe even
26:41
unwilling to really connect the dots across those jurisdictional lines.
26:46
Speaker 1: So this lack of clear answers the ongoing official denial.
26:50
It's basically forced New England communities to take matters into
26:53
their own hands, hasn't it.
26:54
Speaker 2: It really has.
26:55
Speaker 1: They're seeing these tangible, profound changes in just daily life,
27:00
measurable economic impact. It confirms just how deeply the sources
27:03
say this fear has permeated society.
27:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, the community response speaks volumes. It's like this grassroots
27:10
mobilization totally fueled by self preservation at this point, like
27:13
whati well, self defense classes are apparently surging in Providence.
27:17
That's a direct response to the feeling of vulnerability, especially
27:20
among women. Curfews have actually been implemented in small towns
27:24
like Enfield, Maine, right after the Sunshine Stuart homicide, which
27:28
kind of demonstrates that, you know, local governments might be
27:31
taking the threat more seriously than the overarching state police
27:34
denial suggest and.
27:35
Speaker 1: The sources mentioned people are actively arming themselves. Now there
27:40
was that expost urging women be vigilant and armed. M
27:44
That feels like a significant shift, doesn't it For a
27:47
region that often prides itself on maybe a softer approach.
27:51
Speaker 2: It's a huge operational change in daily life. Everything's being
27:54
restructured around perceived safety. Now those bike paths like the
27:58
one where Megan Meredith was found currently emptying out at
28:01
dusk paddle borders, you know, such a classic New England
28:04
summer activity on the lakes and ponds. Now they're strictly
28:07
traveling groups that ease that individualism of summer recreation. It's
28:11
just gone replaced by this constant hypervigilance.
28:14
Speaker 1: And there are real economic ripples too. Coastal towns, the
28:17
ones that rely so heavily on summer tourism, on recreation revenue,
28:21
they're reporting what fifteen percent dips and visitors.
28:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, significant dips. When fear gets into the public consciousness
28:28
like this, it affects everything from your daily jog right
28:31
up to the regional GDP. Tourists are clearly choosing other destinations,
28:37
places where the headline news isn't about the latest body
28:39
found in the woods.
28:40
Speaker 1: Its psychological toll though that might be the most lasting
28:44
scar because it's invisible. Right. Retired detective John Brockhart had
28:48
an interesting observation. He talked about the mystique about serial
28:52
killers and how that resulting fear it doesn't just keep
28:56
people indoors, it profoundly erodes community bonds.
29:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, the sources really show that suspicion is replacing neighborly
29:04
trust and this panic it adds immense scrutiny onto the
29:07
breathing families too. Now they've got online sleuths dissecting their
29:11
private lives, treating it like part of some public investigation.
29:14
It just complicates their ability to mourn in peace.
29:16
Speaker 1: This entire crisis. Yeah, it's forcing the region to confront
29:20
this vulnerability that was maybe always there, just hitting beneath
29:23
that picturesque surface. Yeah, that thirteenth body, Adriana Suazo in Milton,
29:27
it feels like it was the undeniable catalyst, the thing
29:30
that demanded clarity. Calculated carnage or just horrific coincidence and
29:35
simple denials just can't satisfy that hunger for truth anymore.
29:38
Speaker 2: No, New England is facing this situation now where the threat,
29:42
whether it's one person or multiple factors is forcing communities
29:45
to fundamentally question that very neighborly trust they might have
29:49
once taken for granted. The lack of institutional clarity, it's
29:52
just created this vacuum, and suspicion has filled it. Hashtag
29:56
outag outro.
29:57
Speaker 1: So as we wrap up this really intense deep dive
30:00
looking at the situation as of September twenty twenty five,
30:04
the picture is still one of this stark economy, isn't it.
30:06
Speaker 2: Absolutely On one hand, you have the facts, thirteen tragic
30:09
deaths spanning four states, varying forensic classifications, many autopsies still pending,
30:14
cold hard facts are lack there up.
30:16
Speaker 1: And then on the other hand, you have this pervasive,
30:18
almost palpable public fear fueled by the victim demographic. If
30:22
you've talked about the terrifying pace of the discoveries and
30:25
yet that persistent ghost of New England's own dark history.
30:28
Speaker 2: And with no arrests made and so many crucial autopsy
30:32
results still pending, that trust between the public and the
30:35
official institutions it remains deeply frayed. For Adriana Suazzo, for
30:41
all the other victims. Justice demands clarity, but the investigation
30:45
right now still feels fragmented, divided by those jurisdictional lines.
30:49
Families are just waiting, and entire communities are watching, holding
30:53
their breath. And here's where it gets really interesting. I
30:55
think this is the final thought we kind of pulled
30:57
from the sources, the ultimate tragedy. It might not just
31:01
be about the bodies themselves. It might be about the
31:04
institutional resistance to seeing them as potentially connected, whether the
31:08
eventual final cause of these thirteen deaths gets classified as
31:11
coincidence or calculated carnage. The sources really suggest that the
31:15
lack of definitive, coordinated answers that allows fear itself to
31:19
serve as its own kind of ongoing trauma.
31:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, the uncertainty becomes the injury, exactly until that shadow
31:24
finally yields some truth. New England's remains uneasy, forced to
31:28
redefine what safety even means when the administrative denial of
31:32
a unified threat often seems more convenient for bureaucracy than
31:36
it is for actually achieving clarity for the people living
31:38
through it.