Welcome back to a new week of Unsolved, everyone. This week I will be describing a somewhat old ongoing case out of Massachusetts.

From around March of 1988 to April of 1989, an unknown serial killer became responsible for the deaths of between nine and eleven women from New Bedford. Like many of the cases we have previously discussed, several suspects were investigated for these crimes, but none was able to be positively connected to the murders, so the case remains open to this day.

All of the victims are suspected to have been taken from New Bedford because that is where they were all last seen alive, but their bodies were dispersed all around the nearby area. The first victim was 28-year-old Robbin Rhodes, who was found in March of 1989 along a popular highway, Route 140. All of the victims were in their 20’s and 30’s and had connections to drugs and prostitution. There were also two other women who were reported missing around this time whose remains were never found and who are suspected to have a link to this case.

In this case, it is the suspects and investigation of these suspects that tell more about the case than the physical evidence found on the victims.

Anthony DeGrazia had his first major run-in with the law after being accused and convicted of 17 rapes and sexual assaults, all of which were victimizing sex workers. After just over a year in prison, he was released and found dead at his ex-girlfriend’s house one month later. The death was ruled a homicide, and this came shortly after being announced as the number one suspect in the New Bedford Highway Killings, so it is suspected by many investigators that he committed suicide. This is unsubstantiated, however, and there is no proof that he even has a connection to any of the murders and that his death was a coincidence.

Kenneth Ponte was an attorney from New Bedford who was convicted of the murder of Rochelle Dopierala, who he beat to death before she could expose his drug tendencies. This incident brought him to police’s attention in the New Bedford Highway Killings, but they were once again unable to link him to any more murders.

The final major suspect was Daniel Tavares Jr., who claimed to be the killer in a letter to one of the prison staff while he was imprisoned for the murder of his mother. This was convincing because he knew where one other dead woman was buried, only about a mile away from his home. He was also convicted of two other murders, so he is known to be capable of killing.

Despite these leads, not enough evidence has been found to determine the real identity of the New Bedford Highway Killer, so possibly with time, new evidence can be found and investigated to solve this cold case.