Pregnant woman was found dead in a pond, Rhode Island cops say. Now, two arrests made
When a pregnant woman’s body was found submerged in a pond, her death was viewed as suspicious by detectives who noticed multiple slashes on her head, police said.
The day after Leila Patricia Duarte Da Luz, 42, of Brockton, Rhode Island, was discovered dead on Dec. 21 at Carbuncle Pond in Coventry, her death was ruled a homicide following an autopsy, according to state authorities.
Now, two men, Gary R. Gromkiewicz, 35, of Lincoln, and Michael P. Lambert, 46, who is incarcerated at a correctional facility, have been arrested on murder charges, state police announced in a May 9 news release.
Gromkiewicz is the father of Da Luz’s unborn baby and Lambert was described as his “associate,” according to police.
“On behalf of the Rhode Island State Police, I extend my condolences to the loved ones of Ms. Da Luz at this difficult time,” state police Superintendent Col. Darnell S. Weaver said in a statement.
Da Luz’s body wasn’t identified until nearly a week later when a missing persons report was filed on Dec. 27, the release said.
The arrests of Gromkiewicz and Lambert are the result of an investigation involving 53 search warrants, the collection and review of physical evidence and several witness interviews, police said.
When Da Luz was killed, Gromkiewicz was out on probation in connection with a 2015 felony conviction related to assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said.
Lambert was also out on parole stemming from how a murder conviction in 1995, authorities said. He’s again incarcerated because he’s accused of violating his parole.
When he was 17, Lambert was accused of killing Sylvester R. Gardiner, who was homeless, on Thanksgiving in 1994 and was later found guilty of second-degree murder, according to The Providence Journal.
A co-defendant, William Page, was found guilty of first-degree murder, the newspaper reported. Both Lambert and Page were accused of torturing Gardiner.
As for the killing of Da Luz, potential motives weren’t specified by state police.
Information regarding attorneys for Gromkiewicz and Lambert wasn’t immediately available.
Coventry, where Da Luz’s body was found, is about 20 miles southwest of Providence.
This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Pregnant woman was found dead in a pond, Rhode Island cops say. Now, two arrests made."
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