BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Two Rhode Island men have been arrested in the killing of a pregnant woman from Brockton whose body was found in Carbuncle Pond in Coventry, according to police.
The body of 34-year-old Leila Patricia Duarte Da Luz was found in the pond on Dec. 1. Investigators found that she had several lacerations to her head and determined that her death was suspicious. The following day, the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that it was a homicide.
Police say Gary R. Gromkiewicz, 35, of Lincoln, RI, is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He is being held at Rhode Island State Police headquarters until his arraignment on Wednesday at the Kent County Courthouse.
Gromkiewicz, who officials say is the father of Leila Duarte Da Luz’s unborn baby, was on probation from a 2015 felony assault with a deadly weapon conviction.
The second suspect is 46-year-old Michael P. Lambert of Pawtucket, RI, a known associate of Gary Gromkiewicz. Lambert is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder and is incarcerated at the ACI for violating his parole.
At the time of the murder, officials say Lambert was out on parole from a 1995 murder conviction.
The investigation into Duarte Da Luz’s death included the execution of 53 search warrants for evidence related to the murder.
“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,” Colonel Darnell S. Weaver, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety, said in a statement. “On behalf of the Rhode Island State Police, I extend my condolences to the loved ones of Ms. Da Luz at this difficult time.”
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