WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND: A felon fiance and a convicted killer have been arrested in the murder of a pregnant Massachusetts woman Leila Patricia Duarte Da Luz. Da Luz was found in December last by a fisherman, now six months later his fiance, Gary Gromkiewicz, and his alleged associate Michael Lambert were arrested on Tuesday.
Lambert, according to prosecutors, was convicted of murdering a homeless man on Thanksgiving in the mid-1990s, while Gromkeiwicz was on parole for a 2015 assault with a lethal weapon, according to Rhode Island State Police.
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She was eight to 10 weeks pregnant
Fox News noted, an "extensive investigation" was launched after Da Luz was discovered at Carbuncle Pond in Coventry, Rhode Island on December 21. The pond is 75 miles from Da Luz's home in Brockton, Massachusetts. On December 21, police were called to Carbuncle Pond after receiving a report of a deceased female submerged in the water.
In a statement as reported by People, detectives on the scene discovered the girl had "several lacerations to her head and determined that her death was suspicious." The following day, the Rhode Island Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death to be a homicide. She was eight to 10 weeks pregnant, according to the reports.
Her body had been underwater for several hours
Her body, the medical examiner as per one more report said had been underwater for hours. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, with "compression fracture" to the skull as well as drowning. "The evidence collected required a massive amount of time and effort for investigators to analyze the technical data and physical evidence," Rhode Island State Police said in a statement. "But with this information, coupled with numerous witness interviews, detectives established the framework for the criminal charges."
Da Luz was alive when she was thrown into the Pond
During Gromkiewicz's arraignment on Wednesday, prosecutors stated that Da Luz was alive when she entered the water, according to ABC 6 report. The 34-year-old was found wearing an engagement ring. Prosecutors say Duarte Da Luz's relationship with her fiance, Gary Gromkiewicz, was on and off.
Prior to the arrest as Gromkiewicz was contacted by investigators about Da Luz's disappearance he allegedly told them, "She hasn’t answered my texts." He said the investigators it was "maybe a few days ago," that he last saw her. Gromkiewicz then told the investigators, "If you find her don’t call me. I don’t care," before hanging up. Both suspects were held without bail, and no plea was entered for either suspect on Wednesday.
