COVENTRY, Rhode Island — Two convicted felons were arrested Tuesday on a charge of murder in the death of a pregnant Brockton woman who was pulled from a pond in Rhode Island late last year, authorities said.
Gary R. Gromkiewicz, 35, of Lincoln, Rhode Island, and 46-year-old Michael P. Lambert, a known associate of Gromkiewicz, are slated to be arraigned Wednesday at the Kent County Courthouse on charges including murder and conspiracy to commit murder, according to Rhode Island State Police.
Troopers responding to a report of a deceased female submerged in Carbuncle Pond in Coventry on Dec. 21, 2022, found a woman with several lacerations to her head and determined that her death was suspicious, state police said.
The woman was identified as 34-year-old Leila Patricia Duarte Da Luz on Dec. 27 when a missing person report was filed with Brockton Police Department. detectives.
A subsequent investigation that included the execution of 53 search warrants for evidence related to the murder led detectives to Gromkiewicz and Lambert, according to Colonel Darnell S. Weaver, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety.
Gromkiewicz was the father of Da Luz’s unborn child and was on probation from a 2015 felony assault with a deadly weapon conviction, authorities said. Lambert was out on parole from a 1995 murder conviction.
“I want to commend our Troopers and partners in law enforcement for their exceptional diligence and hard work in pursuit of justice for Ms. Da Luz,” Weaver said. “On behalf of the Rhode Island State Police, I extend my condolences to the loved ones of Ms. Da Luz at this difficult time.”
An investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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