Serial killer fears in New England as the chilling discovery of 13th body in woods fuels fear in community
The body of 21-year-old Adriana Suazo was found on June 1 in a wooded area of Milton, Massachusetts, according to Norfolk District Attorney's Office.
There were no visible signs of trauma, and investigations into the cause of death by the Chief Medical Examiner's office has continued.
Suazo's death's another suspicious fatality carried out across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine since early March, many of which involved female victims found in wooded or remote areas.
While police repeatedly denied any connection, speculation about a potential serial killer's taken hold across social media.
Meanwhile, the death of murder suspect Donald Coffel reignited much of the chatter.
Coffel, 68, was accused of brutally killing his roommate and living with her corpse for over a week before dumping her remains.
Coffel passed away in May while being held at the Corrigan Correctional Center in Connecticut, according to the state's Department of Correction. His death was not considered suspicious.
Police said he acted alone when he murdered Suzanne Wormser, 58, and reiterated that there was no threat to the public.
Police believed the assailant acted alone when he murdered Wormser but her slaying soon became central to online theories tying together over a dozen local deaths.
Those fears took hold when members of a true-crime Facebook group noticed multiple bodies or sets of human remains had been discovered across the region in a matter of weeks, some just minutes from one another by car.
Suazo's sister Melanie Pizarro launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs and on it she wrote: 'Adriana wasn't just my sister - she was a firecracker, full of life, laughter, and fierce love. She loved hard, laughed loud, and made sure the people around her felt it.'
A vigil was held near the wooded area where the victim's body was found.
On March 6, Paige Fannon was found in the Norwalk River in Connecticut, the same day a human skull was discovered near Route 3 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Two weeks later, on March 19, Wormser's remains were located in Groton, Connecticut.
The next day, Denise Leary's body was located near her home in New Haven, Connecticut, months after she was last seen.
On March 26, the remains of 56-year-old Michele Romano were spotted in a wooded area in Foster, Rhode Island.
As the weeks went on, more bodies surfaced.
On April 9, unidentified remains were found in Killingly, Connecticut.
The following day, another unidentified body was discovered in Framingham, Massachusetts.
On April 20, a body was pulled from the Seekonk River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Two days later, the body of Meggan Meredith was detected near a bike path in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In the following weeks, the bodies of Samuel Stovall, Mary Colasanto, and Jasmine Wilkes all surfaced across New England.
Serial killer experts believed the current evidence did support the theory, but they refused to dismiss concerns entirely.
FBI serial killer profiler Dr Ann Burgess said: 'Right now, there isn't enough information to say yay or nay. You almost have to go case by case, then take a look at it.'
Forensic psychology professor Dr Katherine Ramsland added: 'You can't just assume all of them were murdered, and they're all murdered by one person. That's just silly.'
To determine whether the deaths were linked, Dr Ramsland said investigators would need information on the cause of death, types of wounds, victim profiles, crime scene patterns, and more.
But in many cases, decomposition made even basic identification difficult.
Dr Ramsland also pointed to growing public distrust in law enforcement following another serial killer inquest on Long Island: 'Because of the way that investigation was poorly handled… I think people are very suspicious of police handling these investigations.
'I don't blame them because I think that one was so egregious and embarrassing for that area, that I can understand people saying, "Well, why would we wait on the police?"'
While experts cautioned against jumping to conclusions, they all agreed on one thing: authorities - and the public - should keep watching.
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