Connecticut River Valley Killer

Last updated
Connecticut River Valley Killer
Suspect sketch.jpg
Composite sketch of Boroski’s unidentified attacker, possibly the Valley Killer.
Details
Victims7+
Span of crimes
October 24, 1978 August 6, 1988 (Confirmed)
CountryUnited States
States New Hampshire, Vermont

The Connecticut River Valley Killer, also known as the Valley Killer, is moniker for an unidentified American serial killer believed to be responsible for at least seven murders of young women in the Connecticut River Valley region of New England between 1978 and 1988.

Contents

In 1985 and 1986, the skeletal remains of two victims were recovered within one thousand feet (300 m) of each other in a wooded area in Kelleyville, New Hampshire; forensic examination indicated multiple stab wounds. Between the recovery of the first and second bodies, a 36-year-old woman was fatally stabbed in a frenzied attack inside her home in Saxtons River, Vermont. Ten days later, the remains of a third missing woman were found, also bearing evidence of stab wounds. At this point, investigators began examining prior homicides in the area and found two previous cases, in 1978 and 1981, further reinforcing the presence of a serial killer.

At the peak of the investigation, and after additional homicides and one non-fatal attack, investigators noted similarities in modus operandi , often-used dump sites and specific wound patterns that linked many of the murders, suggesting a common perpetrator. The murders apparently stopped in 1988 after a woman survived an encounter with the killer.

Victims

Confirmed

Sketch of the man seen entering Moore's home just before her murder. Police sketch of a murder suspect.png
Sketch of the man seen entering Moore's home just before her murder.

Possible

Possible suspects

Michael Nicholaou

Around 2006, private investigator Lynn-Marie Carty proposed that Michael Nicholaou, who shot his estranged wife and stepdaughter before killing himself on New Year's Eve 2005, could have been the Connecticut River Valley Killer. [29] While initially stating that Nicholaou could be a suspect, attack survivor Jane Boroski stated in an interview for the Dark Valley Podcast [14] that she does not believe that Michael Nicholaou was her attacker.

See also

References

  1. The 1978 unsolved homicide of Catherine Millican, Cold Case Unit.
  2. 1 2 3 "New England Unsolved: The Valley Killer, part 1". Blogspot. August 30, 2008. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010.
  3. The 1981 suspicious death of Mary Elizabeth Critchley, Cold Case Unit.
  4. The unsolved homicide of Bernice Courtemanche, Cold Case Unit.
  5. 1 2 3 Ben Montgomery; Alexandra Zayas (July 8, 2007). "Valley murder victims". Concord Monitor . Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "NH/VT/ME Unsolved Homicides". Blogspot. December 18, 2005.
  7. The unsolved homicide of Ellen Fried, Cold Case Unit.
  8. Montgomery, Ben; Zayas, Alexandra (June 11, 2006). "Tracking a Ghost". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008.
  9. Episode 98: The Connecticut River Valley Killer
  10. The unsolved homicide of Eva Morse, Cold Case Unit.
  11. Lynda Moore, Vermont State Police.
  12. Unsolved Mysteries . Season 3. Episode 32. April 10, 1991.
  13. Crowley, Patrick J. (April 18, 2007). "A cold case heats up". Brattleboro Reformer.
  14. 1 2 "Dark Valley". Dark Valley. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
  15. Barbara Agnew, Vermont State Police.
  16. Montgomery, Ben (January 27, 2008). "New interest in Connecticut River Valley serial killings" (PDF). St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2008.
  17. "Serial Killers on the Loose". THS Investigates . Season 4. 2008-09-12.
  18. The 1968 unsolved homicide of Joanne Dunham, Cold Case Unit.
  19. The 1982 unsolved homicide of Sylvia Gray, Cold Case Unit.
  20. The 1986 unsolved homicide of Steven Hill, Cold Case Unit.
  21. "InmateReleases". Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  22. "Found Innocent". Boston Globe. May 15, 1985. Delbert Tallman lights a cigarette as he leaves Windsor County Courthouse in White River Junction, VT., yesterday after being found not guilty in murder of Heidi Martin. Tallman, 22, confessed to slaying 16-year-old Hartland girl last May, but later recanted confession and blamed killing on another man. Tallman is accompanied by his attorney, Robert Keiner. his mother, Joan Gilman, follows.
  23. "Savage Watch - Massachusett's Cold Cases Page 3". www.savagewatch.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  24. "MA MA - Warwick, WhtFem, dismembered, at Route 78 rest area, Jun '89". www.websleuths.com. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  25. "Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP13193". www.namus.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  26. "Franklin County Jane Doe (1989) is now Identified". www.dnasolves.com. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  27. The unsolved homicide of Carrie Moss, Cold Case Unit.
  28. Ford, Royal (August 2, 1991). "Skeleton is identified as missing N.H. girl". Boston Globe.
  29. "Man that got away?". Rutland Herald. Associated Press. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2025-02-10.