Lineida Olivera was found Rutland State Forest September 5, 2007
September 13, 2007
DA hesitates to link slayings of women
By Matt Lynch/Daily News staff
A woman whose skeletal remains were found near Rutland State Park lived a life of prostitution and drugs, police say, similar to that of women whose bodies were found in Marlborough and Hudson, but officials are not saying the killings are linked.
The remains of Lineida Olivera, a Worcester resident who once lived in Framingham, were found Sept. 5 on state-owned conservation land several hundred feet from Rte. 122 near the state park. Her sister, Marilyn Olivera, of Marlborough last saw her in January after Lineida gave birth to two of her 11 children.
The remains of Carmen Rudy, and Betzaida Montalvo were found side by side in makeshift graves near a private boys school in Marlborough in September 2003. Dinelia Torres was found less than two miles away six months later in Hudson.
Rudy, Montalvo and Torres all used drugs and worked as prostitutes, investigators have said.
"We're not oblivious to the similarities," Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said at a press conference yesterday in Worcester. "But we're focusing on (Olivera's killing) as a single murder. Right now, we're not prepared to say the person who killed Ms. Olivera killed other people."
Earlier this week, a New Jersey-based profiling company released what it said is a rough estimate of the man it dubbed the "Main South Woodsman."
The person has killed at least five prostitutes from the Main South area of Worcester and dumped their bodies in Massachusetts and Maine, according to the System To Apprehend Lethal Killers, or, STALK Inc.
The killer is a male of unknown race between the ages of 28 and 41 who works construction, maintenance or drives trucks. He suffers from a learning disability, anxiety and paranoia, the profile says.
He likely grew up in a physically and sexually abusive home, frequents prostitutes in Worcester, and has a history of assaulting women, according to STALK. He is also a compulsive bragger who boasts of hunting and fishing exploits and enjoys sex outdoors, according to the profile.
Early and a spokesman for Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone said they have read the profile and are not disregarding the information.
"There are bits and pieces I agree with and other things I don't agree with (in the profile)," Early said. "We're doing everything we need to do to find the killer. The facts lead us where the facts lead us."
Corey Welford, a spokesman for Leone, said the Middlesex district attorney's s office will monitor all potential information related to the bodies found in Marlborough and Hudson.
"These are serious unsolved crimes," said Welford. "We certainly don't want to discount the findings of anything that could be helpful."
At the press conference near the state park, Early said investigators discovered new evidence yesterday at the scene but declined to elaborate.
Early said although Olivera's murder has not been linked to any other killings, officials from police departments involved in any of the murders have been discussing the cases and recently had a round-table meeting.
All four of the victims found in Massachusetts were petite, Hispanic women with dark hair and a history of prostitution. STALK claims the killer is responsible for a fifth murder, that of Wendy Morello, whose body was found in Maine in September 2004.
Welford said anyone with information on the killings can contact the district attorney's state police unit at 617-679-6600.
Early said information from the cases is being examined by state police assigned to his office and Leone's office as well as police from Marlborough, Hudson, Worcester, and Rutland.
(Matt Lynch can be reached at 508-490-7453 or mlynch@cnc.com.)
July 16, 2007
Search for missing woman continues
Scott J. Croteau
WORCESTER - The search for Lineida Olivera continues.
Police have received some phone calls about the missing woman but no one has recalled seeing her since late January or early February.
Family members have talked to people that know the missing 35-year-old woman, who lived in the city and in Framingham at one point, but they haven't seen her lately either.
The search for Ms. Olivera, who has a history of drug use and has been arrested several times on prostitution charges, is being investigated by police as a missing-person case.
Her appearance, which is similar to the women missing from the streets of Main South and discovered later dead in Marlboro, Hudson and in Maine, does have authorities wondering about those deaths, which are being investigated as a suspected serial killer case.
Authorities said they have searched the woods of Marlboro and Hudson. The skeletal remains of Betzaida Montalvo and Carmen Rudy were found on the grounds of Hillside School in Marlboro on Sept. 24 and Sept. 29, 2003. Dinelia Torres' skeleton was found on March 3, 2004, off Brigham Street in Hudson, a little more than a mile from the other women. Wendy A. Morello's body was found on Sept. 13, 2004, in a 35-gallon trash can in York, Maine.
The search did not result in the discovery of Ms. Olivera. The family of Ms. Olivera, the mother of 11 children, is prepared for the worst but hopes she returns home safe.
Authorities have checked with drug rehabilitation facilities and state jails, but Ms. Olivera has not been located. If she was in a rehabilitation facility, Ms. Olivera would have called, family members said.
Her sister-in-law, who did not want to be identified by name, said Ms. Olivera would always contact members of the close-knit family and if she was in rehabilitation, she would definitely call to get a "pat on the back."