Wendy A. Morello's body was found in York Maine on Sept.13, 2004
Maine, local cases appear unrelated
Scott J. Croteau, Telegram & Gazette
MARLBORO - There was a question in people's minds when the body of Wendy A. Morello was found inside a trash bin in York, Maine, Sept. 13. They wanted to know whether she was the fourth prostitute taken from the streets of Main South in Worcester and slain at the hands of a possible serial killer.
Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said yesterday that although investigators are still looking into a possible link, all signs point to no.
"At this time we haven't totally ruled it out, but there are too many dissimilarities for us to link it," she said yesterday, while discussing the unrelated killing of Maria Hartogensis.
State police detectives from her office will keep in contact with Maine authorities, but there does not appear to be a link between Ms. Morello's death and the deaths of Betzaida Montalvo, Carmen Rudy and Dinelia Torres, Ms. Coakley said yesterday.
Ms. Morello's family said in a September interview that they did not believe she was the fourth victim of a possible serial killer. They told the Telegram & Gazette that Maine investigators told them they were doubtful her death was related to the bodies found in the Marlboro-Hudson area.
Investigators have said they believe Ms. Morello, 40, with a last known address in Worcester, may have been slain elsewhere and dumped in Maine.
William R. Stokes, Maine deputy attorney general, said yesterday the death is still being treated as suspicious and a cause of death has not been released yet, pending lab test results.
Mrs. Hartogensis' death had investigators wondering whether she was another woman killed and dumped in Marlboro woods. But that has been ruled out, with her husband charged with murder.
Mrs. Hartogensis was petite and dark-haired, traits of the other women found dead in Marlboro and Hudson.
The deaths of Ms. Montalvo, 29, and Ms. Rudy, 29, whose skeletons were found in woods on the Hillside School grounds in September 2003, and the death of Ms. Torres, 33, whose skeleton was found in March off Brigham Street in Hudson, are still open investigations, Ms. Coakley said.
"They are open cases, to the extent that we have information we are working on. We are obviously at a stage where we need more information," she said.
There are no new developments in the case, and police from Marlboro, Hudson and Worcester are working with state police on the cases. Ms. Montalvo and Ms. Rudy's deaths were ruled homicides. A cause and manner of death for Ms. Torres has not been released. All three women had children.
"I am concerned that someone is still out there," Ms. Coakley said. "Someone who committed those murders may well still be in the area and preying upon people, particularly women who work in the Worcester area and work on the streets."
All three women had histories of drug abuse and prostitution