The police in a Rhode Island beach town are investigating rumors about hidden graves linked to a supposed New England serial killer that have been spreading rapidly on social media.
These rumors emerged after eight bodies were discovered in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts from March to April, creating widespread panic on platforms like Facebook and TikTok. However, local and state authorities have not connected these eight deaths, and it remains uncertain how many, if any, involved homicide.
“In the past week, Narragansett Police became aware of troubling posts in a Facebook group focused on New England Serial Killers,” the police reported on Facebook last Thursday. “Only the group administrator could view the user’s actual name. The post hinted at the possibility of multiple bodies being buried around Scarborough Beach’s Black Point area.”
Previously named “New England Serial Killer,” a private Facebook group has since changed its name due to Facebook’s policies, but it still has over 65,300 members. Recently, an anonymous member shared a disturbing post that led Narragansett police to launch an investigation.
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Narragansett police searched for hidden graves near Scarborough Beach “with negative results” following rumors about a New England serial killer. (Getty Images)
“It appeared that someone was trying to provoke a reaction. They mentioned Rick Rolling the group and referred to this as poetry. One of their poems even spelled out ‘hoax’ using the first letters of the lines,” Det. Sgt. Brent Kuzman told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “It seemed clear this was likely a hoax, but I never want to be the one who overlooks a potential issue.”
“I never want to be the person that didn’t do something.”
His colleagues shared his sentiment, and they allocated resources for investigations on both Monday and Tuesday using cadaver dogs.
Narragansett PD allocated resources for searches on Monday and Tuesday with cadaver dogs. (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group)
“The search yielded no results,” Kuzman confirmed regarding the post.
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The Narragansett PD reported on Facebook that “detectives, along with two RISP cadaver K9s, conducted an extensive search of the area, finding no hidden graves. Narragansett detectives are also collaborating with the FBI on this case.”
“While it might seem like a waste of resources, we needed to ensure the claims were unfounded. It’s a tricky situation, similar to responding to a school fire alarm,” Kuzman added. “You must act, but you don’t want to make things easier for those spreading rumors while also upholding your duty to verify there’s nothing to fret over.”
“As we know… a curious neighbor can solve several crimes,” Kuzman remarked.
In recent months, eight bodies or remains have been found in New Haven, Norwalk, Groton, and Killingly in Connecticut; Foster in Rhode Island; and Framingham, Plymouth, and Springfield in Massachusetts. Some online investigators claim that these findings, especially those of female remains across these neighboring states, could point to a serial killer, though police have not confirmed this theory.
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Narragansett police state that “detectives have also been in communication with the FBI regarding this case.” (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe)
The Facebook group has rapidly gained over 15,000 new members in just a few weeks.
Kuzman mentioned that within the Facebook group, “there seems to be some confirmation bias, as members joined for that specific discussion,” suggesting they may be connecting unrelated cases.
Searches for “New England serial killer” surged on Google around April 7, according to search engine analytics.
