Residents of New England are on high alert after the remains of 12 people have been found throughout three states. The investigation has triggered rumors of a possible New England serial killer in 2025, and social media has been buzzing about possible theories. More than 70,000 people have joined a private Facebook page to discuss the deaths. The victims have been found in the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, but major details and information about the alleged murders haven’t been made accessible to the public.
Did The New England Serial Killer Scatter A Dozen Victims Across the State?
According to Her Campus, there doesn’t appear to be any major connections between the victims except that they were all found in the New England area. Many of the victims have yet to be identified and their causes of death may still be up in the air. While people online have speculated about the possibility of a New England serial killer, some experts believe that it’s unlikely there is just one killer.
Donald Coffel was Arrested for One of the Murders in March
In March, 68-year-old Donald Coffel was arrested in connection to the murder of his roommate, Suzanne Wormser, whose remains were found in a suitcase in Groton, Connecticut. Coffel was accused of bludgeoning Wormser, 58, and dismembering her body. He allegedly disposed of her remains across several locations. Coffel was being held at Corrigan Correctional Center in Connecticut. However, he passed away in May 2025. He had previously been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment at the time of his death, per The Daily Mail.
Who Are the New England Serial Killer Victims?
While Coffel was only thought to be connected to Wormser, the other victims who have been identified include both men and women of all different ages. On March 26, 2025, the body of Michele Romano, 56, was discovered in a wooded area in Foster, Rhode Island. In April, an unidentified man between the ages of 25 and 45 was found in Killingly, Connecticut. The next day, another unidentified body was found in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Later that month, a third unidentified body was discovered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island just off of the Seekonk River. On April 22, Meggan Meredith, 25, was found in Springfield, Massachusetts near a local bike path. That same week, Samuel Stovall, 51, was identified after his body was found in Taunton, Massachusetts. Just hours later, 72-year-old Mary Colasanto was uncovered in the Connecticut River.
Despite the fact that all of the remains were found in New England, many experts don’t believe the deaths were the work of a singular New England serial killer. In the case of Michele Romano, whose family has spoken out claiming that she was not the victim of a serial killer.
Why It’s Likely There’s Multiple New England Serial Killers
“Most serial killers have some commonality in their victims,” says Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox. “Usually it’s the sex, race, age or physical features of the victims. That’s not always true, of course, but they tend to have a particular preference for the victim type.”
In addition to the victims not having any blatant similarities, Fox reveals that it’s also unusual for a serial killer to hide bodies in separate locations, especially across state lines.
“A lot of serial killers will have a particular dump site where they dispose of their bodies. More than 70% of serial killers kill in one locale, typically around their home or workplace or somewhere where they know the roads and the escape patterns,” he stated.
Fox went on to explain that most serial killers stay in a place where they’re familiar. Many have families and jobs and are functioning members of society. So, they kill part-time and don’t have time to travel from state to state to find victims.
Serial Killer Expert Speaks Out
Serial killer expert Dr. Katherine Ramsland spoke out, revealing that while there is no evidence to suggest that one person killed all of the New England victims, it can’t currently be ruled out. However, she did share that many victims are usually killed by someone they knew in life and that investigations often start with those close to the victim before expanding out.
“[In any murder], you don’t start with a serial killer or a stranger killer as your first part of the investigation… You start with people who knew [the deceased], then you go out in widening circles,” Dr. Ramsland said.
Ramsland went on to reveal that the fascination with true crime and the quick spread of information and opinions on social media can add to the theories. However, it’s not as simple as that.
“There’s a lot of what I think of as fuzzy thinking going on in social media and there’s this fun about it – even though these are real victims, people are forgetting that part of it,” she added.
For now, police across all the states where victims were found are investigating the mysterious deaths. Could it be a coincidence that New England has had an influx of murder victims in a short span of time, or is there a New England serial killer on the loose? It seems that everyone has an opinion. However, until the investigations are complete, there may be more questions than answers.
