Online speculation is pressuring law enforcement to conduct a wider investigation.
NEW ENGLAND—On the eve of Easter Sunday, detectives in Narragansett, Rhode Island, were busy investigating crimes when messages began to pour in.
“It came from everywhere,” Detective Sgt. Brent Kuzman said, referring to the flurry of emails and phone calls to dispatch that pointed to an anonymous Facebook post on a group called New England SK (the SK referring to serial killer).
While the identity of the person behind the post was unavailable publicly, the post itself suggested the possibility of six bodies buried at Black Point near Scarborough Beach, each positioned vertically and facing the ocean.
And despite the post also stating it was a piece of fiction, Kuzman believed the message contained enough credibility to prompt further investigation.
That same day, on April 19, four detectives from the Narragansett PD and two Rhode Island State Police cadaver dog teams began searching along woodland trails and the Scarborough beachfront. The department also contacted the FBI.
The search lasted for 20 hours and yielded nothing.
“We used our whole detective division over two days,” Kuzman told The Epoch Times. “We had to put off every other case. The area we looked at was an extensive amount of land.”
Kuzman said the investigation concluded the post was a “100 percent” hoax, adding that the creator of the post has since deleted the message, canceled the account, and remains unidentified. The police declined to provide a screenshot of the post to The Epoch Times.
This, however, is just one chapter in a story of murder, conspiracy, and hoaxes revolving around a supposed serial killer, and all being played out on social media.
On the Side of Caution
Social media had been buzzing for months following the discovery of 13 bodies and skeletal remains in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island between March and April.
Most of the remains found were female, including two who had been reported missing in 2024.
In Massachusetts, three cases were identified as homicides, which led to two separate arrests on murder charges. Other causes of death are still undetermined or involve circumstances that police are unable to disclose.
Two cases involve incomplete sets of human remains.
On March 27, a hunter searching for deer antlers found a portion of a human skull in Plymouth, Massachusetts, according to Boston25 News. Police closed off the area as part of the ongoing investigation.
The department released a statement the next day, stating there was “no threat to public safety.”
On May 4, police reported the discovery of a possible human leg bone near the home of pop singer Taylor Swift in an upscale area of Westerly, Rhode Island. The remains have not been identified.
The Epoch Times contacted the Westerly police for a comment.
By Allan Stein
