In the 37 years since women were disappearing off the streets of New Bedford, there have been a litany of people of interest in the murders. And for 37 years, those highways around New Bedford have kept a haunting silence. They hold many secrets from those months between 1988 and 1989, when eleven women disappeared off the streets of the city. While nine were recovered along Route 140, 195, 88 and nearby roads, two women remain missing. All were vulnerable, struggling with addiction, some involved in sex work, and all part of a society that people choose to ignore and overlook.
Bodies were found near entrance ramps and wooded areas off I-195 in Dartmouth, a gravel pit off Reed Road, others were found in Westport, Dartmouth, and Freetown, all within the greater New Bedford area. Roadways that are grim corridors of violence, and though the stories are separated by many years, still share parallels with the Gilgo Beach case, where in 2023, a 59-year-old architect from Massapequa Park on Long Island, was arrested. Between July 2023 and December 2024, Rex Heuermann was indicted in relation to the murders of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack, all women who were vulnerable to violence.
In episode 90, part two of my conversation with Maureen Boyle, we discuss the suspects and people of interest in the cases, the still-unidentified killer who preyed on women in vulnerable states and suffering with addiction. We talk about the people at the heart of this case, Maureen shares insights from her years covering the case and the emotional toll on the community. Nine murdered women, two still missing. Debra Medeiros, 30, Fall River, the first of nine women to be discovered. Nancy Paiva, 36, mother of two girls, ages 13 and 17. Debra Greenlaw Demello, 35, was a mother of two small kids when she disappeared from a work release program while incarcerated. Dawn Mendes, 25, found November 29, 1988 along the north side of reed road i-195 westbound ramp in Dartmouth.Deborah Lynn McConnell, 25, of Newport, RI, found Dec 1, 1988, off route 140 in Freetown, seven months after her family reported her missing, Rochelle Dopierala, 28, was from Falmouth when she disappeared during late April 1988. Her body was found on December 10, 1988, in an old gravel pit along reed road in Dartmouth on I-195. Robin Lynn Rhodes, 29, found March 28, 1989 off of route 140. Mary Rose Santos, 26, a mother, was found March 31, 1989, approximately 25 feet off of route 88 in Westport. Sandra Botelho, 24, found April 24, 1989, along I-195 in Marion. Christina Monteiro, 19, thought to be a highway killer victim, was last seen in July 1988 in New Bedford. She was never heard from again. Marilyn Cardoza Roberts, 34, last heard from in April 1988. She was in the New Bedford area at the time; her father was a retired New Bedford police officer. She was reported missing by her father, a retired New Bedford police officer, in June 1988. She was seen in New Bedford that same month, but they reported her missing a second time in December 1988 after they heard about a possible serial murderer in the area.
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