Episode 30: The New Bedford Highway Killer
Anthony DeGrazia
Kenneth Ponte
The town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was full of fear in the years of 1988 to 1989. Women were going missing and their bodies were turning up along the highways that ran through the town. All daughters, sisters, mothers and friends, these women largely shared a similar lifestyle that immediately made them high risk. Many of them had turned to sex work to make money for their families, often supporting young children, and many of them had also fallen under the crushing addiction of drugs. The unfortunate circumstances of their lifestyles ended with them being strangled and disposed on the side of the highway, some not being found for months at a time. In total, 9 bodies were found, with 2 more missing and waiting to be found, even to this day. The victims were:
Debra Medeiros, 29: last seen in May or June 1988 / found on July 3rd, 1988.
Nancy Paiva, 36: last seen on July 7th, 1988 / found on July 30th, 1988.
Deborah DeMello, 35: last seen on July 11th, 1988 / found on November 8th, 1988.
Dawn Mendes, 25: last seen on September 4th, 1988 / found on November 29th, 1988.
Deborah McConnell, 25: last seen in May 1988 / found on December 1st, 1988.
Rochelle Clifford Dopierala, 28: last seen on April 27th, 1988 / found on December 10th, 1988.
Robin Rhodes, 28: last seen in April 1988 / found on March 28th, 1989.
Mary Rose Santos, 26: last seen on July 16th, 1988 / found on March 31st, 1989.
Sandra Botelho, 24: last seen on August 11th, 1988 / found on April 24th, 1989.
The two women who were reported missing are:
Marilyn Roberts, 34: last seen in April of 1988.
Christine Monteiro, 19: last seen in May of 1988.
There were several suspects named and even apprehended in the case of the New Bedford Highway Killings, however no charges ever stuck and ultimately no one was ever officially named the murderer. Anthony DeGrazia, a muscular stonemason, was known in the community and to the police for choking sex workers. He committed suicide in 1991, supposedly because the heat was coming down on him. Another suspect, Kenneth Ponte, was a New Bedford lawyer who had an extensive drug history and knew several of the victims. Although he was originally charged with one murder, the accusation never stuck and he was let go. Ponte died alone in his home in 2010.
Image sources:
cbsboston.com - “New Bedford Highway Serial Killer Mystery Remains Unsolved More Than 30 Years Later”
dailymail.co.uk - “New Bedford Highway Serial Killer Case Unsolved”