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Investigators dont believe a serial killer was responsible for the slaying of a Massachusetts woman whose body was found in a trash barrel last fall in York County, but theyre no closer to solving the crime.
The body of Wendy A. Morello of Worcester, Mass., was found in a green trash barrel off Riverwood Drive in the town of York on Sept. 13. Police believe she was killed somewhere else and her body was later discarded in Maine.
One of the key challenges in the Morello case is not knowing where she was killed before her body was left in York, investigator said.
The lack of progress has frustrated family members who are unable to put the 40-year-old womans murder behind them.
Morellos history of drug use, prostitution and life on the streets in Worcester led police to consider the possibility she could have been the latest in a string of killings that targeted women living and working in that neighborhood.
Like Morello, the women were petite, had substance-abuse problems and sometimes turned to prostitution in Worcesters Main South section to support their habits.
"There were a number of similarities. That was the reason we initially looked at it," said Melissa Sherman of the Middlesex County District Attorneys Office. "Upon further investigation, it didnt appear to be related to our cases."
Middlesex County led a task force looking into the murders of three women whose skeletal remains were found in 2003 within a mile of each other in the suburbs outside Worcester.
Morello was taken to Maine, 100 miles from where she was last seen and where the other bodies were found. Rather than being buried in the woods, like at least two of the other victims, her body was left in a plastic trash barrel.
The bodies outside Worcester were decomposed. Authorities are working with forensic scientists at the Smithsonian Institute to determine how they died. Police have not released Morellos cause of death.
"Are they connected or are they not connected? You just cant say absolutely one way or the other," McDonough said. http://www.therockinghamnews.com/news/07292005/maine/55081.htm
The body of Wendy A. Morello of Worcester, Mass., was found in a green trash barrel off Riverwood Drive in the town of York on Sept. 13. Police believe she was killed somewhere else and her body was later discarded in Maine.
One of the key challenges in the Morello case is not knowing where she was killed before her body was left in York, investigator said.
The lack of progress has frustrated family members who are unable to put the 40-year-old womans murder behind them.
Morellos history of drug use, prostitution and life on the streets in Worcester led police to consider the possibility she could have been the latest in a string of killings that targeted women living and working in that neighborhood.
Like Morello, the women were petite, had substance-abuse problems and sometimes turned to prostitution in Worcesters Main South section to support their habits.
"There were a number of similarities. That was the reason we initially looked at it," said Melissa Sherman of the Middlesex County District Attorneys Office. "Upon further investigation, it didnt appear to be related to our cases."
Middlesex County led a task force looking into the murders of three women whose skeletal remains were found in 2003 within a mile of each other in the suburbs outside Worcester.
Morello was taken to Maine, 100 miles from where she was last seen and where the other bodies were found. Rather than being buried in the woods, like at least two of the other victims, her body was left in a plastic trash barrel.
The bodies outside Worcester were decomposed. Authorities are working with forensic scientists at the Smithsonian Institute to determine how they died. Police have not released Morellos cause of death.
"Are they connected or are they not connected? You just cant say absolutely one way or the other," McDonough said. http://www.therockinghamnews.com/news/07292005/maine/55081.htm
