After 35 Years New Bedford Highway Killings Remain Unresolved
Thirty-five years after 11 women disappeared from the streets in what have become known as the New Bedford Highway Murders, some who have tried to untangle the mystery are confident we will know someday who was responsible.
"I have no doubt this case will eventually be solved," said Maureen Boyle, author of Shallow Graves: The Hunt For The New Bedford Highway Serial Killer.
The women, in their 20s and 30s, had ties to drugs and prostitution in the New Bedford area and began vanishing from the streets in March 1988. The first of the nine bodies recovered was discovered along Route 140 in New Bedford in July 1988.
Authorities have not yet found the bodies of two women who went missing.
Boyle was a reporter covered the highway murders.
"The State Police Cold Case Unit, and Lt. Ann Marie Robertson in particular, have followed up on a number of leads and tips from the public," she said.
"Just because the public doesn't hear what is going on doesn't mean the investigation isn't continuing," Boyle said. "There are many reasons why information isn't released in murder cases until there is an arrest or the identification of a suspect if the individual is dead."
Boyle said investigators have to be careful not to "tip off the suspect," and that you "don't want to identify innocent people who may be drawn into the case."
"You don't want to put the families on a rollercoaster of hope," she said.
Gregg Miliote, Director of Communications for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, said investigators are still pursuing a suspect.
"Our Cold Case Unit has done great work during the past several years solving numerous cases dating all the way back to the 1980s," he said. "While we never want to give false hope to the loved ones, we will not give up on this case or any other unsolved homicide from previous District Attorney administrations."
Boyle's second book The Ghost: Murder of Police Chief Greg Adams and the Hunt for his Killer is available from Black Lyon Publishing. Her newest book Child Last Seen: The Disappearance of Patty Desmond is due out soon.