Connecticut River Valley Killer

The Connecticut River Valley Killer, also known as the Valley Killer, is the moniker for an unidentified American serial killer believed to be responsible for at least seven murders of women in the Connecticut River Valley region of New England between 1978 and 1988.

In 1985 and 1986, the skeletal remains of two victims were recovered within of each other in a wooded area in Kelleyville, New Hampshire; forensic examination indicated multiple stab wounds. Between the recovery of the first and second bodies, a 36-year-old woman was fatally stabbed in a frenzied attack inside her home in Saxtons River, Vermont. Ten days later, the remains of a third missing woman were found, also bearing evidence of stab wounds. At this point, investigators began examining prior homicides in the area and found two previous cases, in 1978 and 1981, further reinforcing the presence of a serial killer.

At the peak of the investigation, and after additional homicides and one non-fatal attack, investigators noted similarities in modus operandi, often-used dump sites and specific wound patterns that linked many of the murders, suggesting a common perpetrator. The murders apparently stopped in 1988 after a woman survived an encounter with the killer.

Victims Confirmed On October 24, 1978, 27-year-old Catherine Millican left work and went to the Chandler Brook Wetland Preserve in New London, New Hampshire, where she was birdwatching. Her body, bearing multiple stab wounds, was found yards away from where she was last seen. On July 25, 1981, 37-year-old Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Critchley, a student from the University of Vermont, disappeared near Interstate 91 at the Massachusetts-Vermont border, where she had been hitchhiking to Waterbury, Vermont. She was last seen by a friend who dropped her off near Exit 13 of the Massachusetts Turnpike. On August 9, her body was found in a wooded area off Unity Stage Road in Unity, New Hampshire, about eighty miles from where she was last seen. Owing to the condition of the body, the medical examiner was unable to determine a cause of death. On May 30, 1984, Bernice Courtemanche, a 17-year-old nurse's aide and high school student, was last seen by her boyfriend's mother in Claremont, New Hampshire. She was thought to have set out to see her boyfriend in Newport by hitchhiking along New Hampshire Route 12. She did not reach her destination and was subsequently reported missing. On April 19, 1986, a fisherman happened upon Courtemanche's remains near the Sugar River in Newport. On April 25, 1986, Morse's remains were found by loggers in Unity, New Hampshire, about from where Critchley's body had been discovered in 1981. Post-mortem examination found evidence of knife wounds to Morse's chest and neck. On April 15, 1986, 36-year-old Lynda Moore was doing yard work alone outside her home in Saxtons River, Vermont, near Route 121 at 2 p.m. while her husband was at work. That evening, her husband returned home an hour after she was last seen to find his wife's dead body in the living room, bearing twenty-five knife wounds. The crime scene suggested a fierce struggle had taken place. There were no signs of forced entry or ransacking. Numerous witnesses reported having seen a slightly stocky, dark-haired man with a blue knapsack lingering near Moore's home the day of the murder. The man was thought to be between 20-and-25-years-old, clean shaven, with a round face and wearing dark-rimmed glasses. The following year, a composite sketch was released. The true crime podcast Dark Valley, however, indicates that the man in question was identified and excluded by police. Sketch of the man seen entering Moore's home just before her murder. On January 10, 1987, 38-year-old nurse Barbara Agnew was last seen heading to her home in Norwich, Vermont. That evening, a snowplow driver encountered her green BMW at a northbound Interstate 91 rest stop in Hartford, Vermont. The door was cracked and there was blood on the steering wheel and back seat. Some of her bloodstained belongings were found in a nearby dumpster. On March 28, 1987, Agnew's body was found near an apple tree on Advent Hill Road in a wooded area in Hartland, Vermont, twelve miles from the rest area. She had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck and chest. She had several defensive wounds, as well as a "disabling" wound. Late in the evening on August 6, 1988, 22-year-old Jane Boroski, seven months pregnant, was returning from a county fair in Keene, New Hampshire, when she stopped at a closed convenience store in West Swanzey to purchase soda from a vending machine. She had returned to her car when she took notice of a Jeep Wagoneer parked next to her. Through her rear-view mirror, Boroski saw the driver of the Jeep walking around the back of her vehicle. He then approached her open window and asked her if the payphone was working, at which time he immediately grabbed her and pulled her out. Boroski struggled, and the man accused her of beating up his girlfriend and asked if she had Massachusetts plates on her car. Boroski responded that she had New Hampshire plates, but this did not deter her attacker, who proceeded to stab her twenty-seven times before driving away and leaving her to die. Boroski managed to return to her car and drive on New Hampshire Route 32 toward a friend's house for help. As she neared the house, she noticed a vehicle driving in front of her and realized that it was her attacker's Jeep. Boroski finally reached her friend's home at which the occupants immediately came to her aid. Her attacker apparently performed a U-turn and slowly passed by the house as Boroski was tended to before speeding away into the night. Boroski was treated at a local hospital, where it was determined that the attack had resulted in a severed jugular vein, two collapsed lungs, a kidney laceration and severed tendons in her knees and thumb. Fortunately, Boroski's baby survived, although not without complications; Boroski's daughter would later be diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy. Boroski was able to provide authorities with a composite sketch and the first three characters of the attacker's license plate. However, the killings ceased following the Boroski attack and the case went cold, with Boroski being the sole survivor of the killer.

Possible On June 11, 1968, at approximately 7:10 a.m., 15-year-old Joanne Dunham was last seen while walking from her home at Raiche Mobile Homes in Charlestown, New Hampshire, to her bus stop on her way to school. Her body was found at 4:15 p.m. the following day on a roped off dirt road on Quaker City Road in Unity, New Hampshire. An autopsy determined that she had died of asphyxiation. Her case remains unsolved. Nearly three years later, Agnew's body would be found approximately a mile from where Martin was discovered. On July 22, 1984, 26-year-old Ellen Ruth Fried—supervising nurse at Valley Regional Hospital—was last seen making a late-night stop at around 2 a.m. to use a payphone at Leo's Market in Claremont, New Hampshire. She spoke on the phone for about an hour with her sister, mentioning that a car had pulled into the parking lot. Fried briefly stepped away from the phone to see whether her car would start, and resumed the call for a few more minutes. On July 25, 1989, 14-year-old Carrie Moss of New Boston, New Hampshire, left her parents' home to visit friends in Goffstown and disappeared. Almost exactly two years later, on July 24, 1991, her skeletal remains were found in a wooded area in New Boston. While her cause of death could not be determined, she was thought to be the victim of a homicide.

Possible suspects

Michael Nicholaou Around 2006, private investigator Lynn-Marie Carty proposed that Michael Nicholaou, who shot his estranged wife and stepdaughter before killing himself on New Year's Eve 2005, could have been the Connecticut River Valley Killer. While initially stating that Nicholaou could be a suspect, attack survivor Jane Boroski stated in an interview for the Dark Valley Podcast that she does not believe that Michael Nicholaou was her attacker.