Latest news with #Coffel
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Human remains found near Taylor Swift's beachside Rhode Island mansion amid serial killer fears
Human remains were found Wednesday in an upscale Rhode Island beach neighborhood as concerns about a potential serial killer in New England continue to plague the region. A human leg bone was reportedly found on a beach path off Everett Avenue in Watch Hill, a wealthy coastal enclave in the town of Westerly, according to WJAR. The remains were found just a stone's throw from pop megastar Taylor Swift's beachside mansion in the town. Only a few miles away is five-star beach getaway Ocean House, a luxurious resort on the Watch Hill bluffs overlooking the sea. The remains were transferred to the Rhode Island Medical Examiner's Office for further investigation. New England Investigators 'Not Ruling Out Anything' Amid Serial Killer Fears: Former Homicide Detective WJAR reported that foul play is not suspected. Read On The Fox News App The Westerly Police Department declined to comment. The Rhode Island State Police did not return a comment request. Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter The discovery marks the 13th body or set of remains that have been discovered in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts since the beginning of March, sparking online chatter about a potential serial killer. Five bodies have been found in Massachusetts, five in Connecticut and now three in Rhode Island. Two of the bodies were found in the small town of Taunton, Massachusetts. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X A former FBI agent told Fox News Digital earlier this month that authorities in the region have not released enough information to the public in order to quash the rumors. "From what I've seen or heard, first and foremost, not enough is being put out there, so we'll continue to create that serial killer idea," Scott Duffey said. However, Duffey said he does not believe there is sufficient evidence to merit serial killer claims. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub "But at the same time, nothing has been said to make any type of connection [between victims]," he said. "And so that's what leads me down to … let law enforcement continue to answer the questions that they need to answer. But nothing that I have seen would arise to a serial killer [being] responsible for any or most of these people who have been found." One man, Donald Coffel, 68, was arrested in connection with the murder of one of the victims, Suzanne Wormser of Groton, Connecticut. Ct Police Quash New England Serial Killer Rumors, Arrest Man After Woman Found Dismembered In Suitcase Wormser was Coffel's roommate, and she was found dismembered and stuffed into a suitcase in March, stemming from what police said was an argument over crack cocaine. Friday, Coffel died in the Corrigan Correctional Center, according to NBC Connecticut. At the time of his arrest, Coffel reportedly told police that he was in a lot of pain from cancer. Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report. Original article source: Human remains found near Taylor Swift's beachside Rhode Island mansion amid serial killer fears
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
CT man accused of killing, dismembering roommate in Groton dies in custody
A man with terminal cancer who was facing murder and tampering with evidence charges in connection with the death of his roommate whose remains were found in trash bags and luggage at a cemetery in Groton in March has died while in custody. Donald Coffel, 68, died last Friday at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Correction. He was being held on $1 million bond in the death of 58-year-old Suzanne Worser. Coffel's death was not considered suspicious, the spokesperson said, adding that an autopsy was expected to be completed to determine the cause. Connecticut State Police were notified of the death, according to the DOC. 'As standard procedure, the matter is under review by our Security Division,' the DOC spokesperson said. Gruesome details revealed: CT man allegedly admits disposing of woman's body in trash bags, luggage Coffel was charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and improper disposal of a body in connection with Worser's death. Her remains were found on March 19 when officers with the City of Groton Police Department responded to Colonel Ledyard Cemetery at 240 Mitchell St. on the report of a black luggage bag next to two trash cans that smelled something was rotting inside, according to the warrant affidavit supporting Coffel's arrest. Police opened the bag and found a human torso that had been wrapped in a black trash bag, the warrant affidavit said. Detectives responded to the scene and were assisted by the Connecticut State's Attorney's Office and the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later found that the torso belonged to a woman between 45 and 65 years old who may have had Turner Syndrome, a developmental disability resulting in underdeveloped reproductive organs and growth, according to the warrant affidavit. After police released this information to the public, two family members of Worser contacted authorities and reported that they had not heard from her in some time, the warrant affidavit said. Investigators could not locate Worser at her residence on Allen Street, but they were able to find a record of a medical assist at the residence in December 2024 that showed Coffel was living with her and was taken to the hospital at that time, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives returned to the residence on April 17 and spoke to the property manager, who said Coffel had terminal pancreatic cancer and had not been living there since about three weeks prior when he went to the hospital, police wrote. Investigators were let into the residence where they allegedly found cleaning product on a stool and a baseball bat with what appeared to be dried blood and hair on it, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives later obtained a search warrant and allegedly found multiple stains that appeared to be a blood-like substance, the warrant affidavit said. Worser's purse, wallet and identification were also found in a trash bag along with men and women's clothing covered in a blood-like substance. Investigators later interviewed Coffel at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital where he said he had been in and out of the hospital since December 2024 and that, after one of his hospital visits, he found that Worser was no longer at the Allen Street residence, the warrant affidavit said. He said he believed she went missing between January and February but did not notify authorities. During a follow-up interview with Coffel at the hospital, detectives stepped out of his room upon receiving a tip from a witness who alleged that Coffel told him he hit Worser with a baseball bat and cut her up after she stole $200 from him, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel denied this when confronted with the information and later ended the interview. In an interview with police, the witness said he allowed Coffel to stay with him at some point in December when Coffel allegedly told him a woman had stolen his crack cocaine and that he was going to kill her, according to the warrant affidavit. The witness said the next time he saw Coffel, he allegedly told him he hit a woman three times in the head with a baseball bat, killing her, and cut her into pieces, putting her body parts in plastic bags that were thrown in the trash, the warrant affidavit said. During an interview with Coffel the next day, he allegedly conceded that what the witness said was true. He told investigators that, one day, possibly in early January, he grabbed a bat and hit Worser's head three times and that she died afterward, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel claimed that he kept Worser in the apartment for about 1 1/2 weeks before dismembering her, according to the warrant affidavit. He said he then put the body parts in black trash bags and disposed of those in two different dumpsters. Coffel allegedly said he was unable to dispose of one of the pieces and wheeled it to the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery entrance in a suitcase, investigators wrote. Coffel had been in custody since he was arrested on April 25. He had not entered a plea to the charges and was set to appear in New London Superior Court on June 10, court records show. Information from Courant editor Kellie Love was used in this report.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
CT police quash New England serial killer rumors, arrest man after woman found dismembered in suitcase
Officials in Groton, Connecticut, on Monday announced the arrest of a man in connection with the murder of Suzanne Wormser, 58, whose body was found dismembered and stuffed into a suitcase near a cemetery on March 19. Donald Coffel, Wormser's 68-year-old roommate, is charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and disposing of a dead body in Connecticut Superior Court after police found Wormser's body on March 19, though they believe her remains were left in the cemetery sometime in mid-March. "Both the victim and the suspect knew each other. This was a targeted event," Groton Police Department Chief David Burton said during a Monday press conference announcing Coffel's arrest. Burton added that police searched another crime scene at the Groton residence Coffel and Wormser shared on April 17 and interviewed Coffel, a person of interest at the time who later became the primary suspect. New England Serial Killer Fears Merit 'Review And Investigation' After Remains Found Across 3 States: Expert Coffel allegedly confessed to the murder during his third interview with police, saying he beat Wormser with a baseball bat during an argument over crack-cocaine, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Fox 61. Authorities found a bat with blood and hair on it, as well as a hand saw and a woman's clothing covered in a blood-like substance inside the residence Coffel shared with Wormser, according to the warrant. Read On The Fox News App Coffel is being held on $1 million bond. He had a hearing from a hospital on Monday, where he is being treated for cancer, FOX 61 reported. The arrest warrant states that a passerby noticed a luggage bag placed by trash cans near the cemetery for several weeks. Inside the luggage, authorities discovered a human torso. Coffel's arrest is the first in a series of discoveries of 11 human remains across Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts between March and April that have prompted rumors of a serial killer online. "During the course of the police department's investigation, there have been many rumors and unsubstantiated fear-mongering taking place on social media, making this city and surrounding communities seem like unsafe places to live. I'm here to assure you that the City of Groton is among the safest communities in the Northeast," Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick said during a Monday press conference. "Approximately six weeks after the discovery of human remains at Colonel Ledyard Cemetery, I am pleased to announce that an arrest has been made, and a person of interest is in custody." SIGN UP TO GET True Crime Newsletter The Connecticut State Police told Fox News Digital earlier this month that "there is no information at this time suggesting any connection to similar remains discoveries, and there is also no known threat to the public at this time," regarding the deaths in Connecticut. Other remains have been located in New Haven, Norwalk, Groton, Killingly and now Rocky Hill, Connecticut; Foster, Rhode Island; and Framingham, Plymouth, Springfield, and now Taunton, Massachusetts. The New Haven Police Department recently identified a victim whose body was discovered on March 25 on Rock Creek Road as Denise Leary, 59. She had been missing since September of last year. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X "At the time, we had no indication that there was any criminal aspect to her case," New Haven PD Public Information Officer Christian Bruckhart told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday interview. "This was not necessarily unusual behavior for her to leave. She had some mental health diagnoses that she was suffering with, and … we've tried to be cognizant of her family's feelings in this time because there was a time when she was missing, they wanted her to come back, then there were remains found a short distance from their house. So I'm sure they were hoping it wasn't her, and now they have to kind of go through all this again with sort of people online speculating about her." Bruckhart wants to remind the public that victims are not "just the face on the screen" New England Serial Killer Fears Grow As Police Downplay Threat Encroaching On Wealthy Coastal Enclaves "Her family is still suffering and grieving her loss," Bruckhart said. A medical examiner found Leary's cause and manner of death to be undetermined, but Bruckhard said there is no "indication that there's any criminal involvement." "That doesn't mean that we can definitively say there was not, but … in the totality of what we saw in our investigation, there was nothing to indicate that she was murdered," the officer said. Regarding the Wormser case in Groton, Bruckhart said police are "not seeing any links, certainly between Denise and anyone else," and they also do not see a connection between Coffel "and the city of New Haven in general." "In a case of an alleged serial killer, if there was some connection that we had or that we saw, or it was a particular area, or there was a motive or whatever, we would want to put that out because we want to protect the public," Bruckhart said. "That's what we do. Now, that's not to say that we would put out everything that we know, because again, if we're trying to catch this person. Holding some of those facts and not publicizing them might help the investigation, might help that person get caught. In the case of Denise, we don't see any of that." A Facebook group making unsubstatiated connections between the cases, which was formerly called "New England Serial Killer," has changed its name due to the social media company's policies and now has more than 68,000 article source: CT police quash New England serial killer rumors, arrest man after woman found dismembered in suitcase
