Connecticut River Valley Killer

Connecticut River Valley Killer.

In the state of New Hampshire there's a small little know history with serial killers inside of the state but not as talked about. The two biggest histories of serial killers in New Hampshire would the birthplace of HH Holmes and where Chris Wilder was killed when members of the New Hampshire State Police try to arrest him. Also, Rodney Alcala, The Dating Game killer lived and worked in New Hampshire but outside of that it been rare for New Hampshire to see the word "Serial killer" in the headline but it has happened before. In more recent news the state had serial killers making the news both with the state’s cold cases and at least one active serial killer that was captured. Four New Hampshire’s cold cases have been tied to serial killers with the first one being in 1998 when John Edward Brewer was charged in the 1987 case of Michele LaFond in Dublin, N.H.who also was tied to an FL murder. Then in 2013 Craig Conkey, a double murder from Massachusetts was charged in the death of Theresa Reed of Plymouth in 199 that ended in a guilty plea. Then in 2014 the case of Judith Whitney, of Amherst, MA who was found dead in Winchester her case was tied to dead murder Edward Mayrand. In 2017 the bear brook murders and the missing person case of Denise Beaudin, would be tied to Terrence Peder Rasmussen who dies in a CA Jail. In 2006 one of the state's last know serial killer was Sheila LaBarre who was found guilty of killing two men but also had one Victim who was never ID.

One case that has yet to be solve that police think could be the works of a serial killer is the Connecticut River Valley Killer. From 1978 to 1987 up to seven women would kill both in New Hampshire and Vermont and at least one lone survivor. It started on October 24, 1978, when Cathy Millican was bird watching at the Chandler Brook Wetland Preserve in New London, New Hampshire when missing. The next day Cathy Millican was found stab to death with over twenty-nine stab wounds and was found not far from where she was last seen. Than On July 25, 1981, University of Vermont 37-year-old Mary Elizabeth Critchley was hitchhiking to Waterbury, Vermont but disappeared by I93 that was near the Massachusetts-Vermont border. Mary Elizabeth Critchley's body was found on On August 9, 1981, in Unity, New Hampshire no determine a cause of death could be found. Three years later on May 30, 1984, 16-year-old Bernice Courtemanche was last seen by her boyfriend's mother in Claremont New Hampshire when she when to see her boyfriend in Newport NH. She didn’t make it to her destination and was reported missing and her body was not found until two years later it was found in Newport NH and like the last two victims, She was stabbed to death. The fourth victim came on July 20, 1984, when Ellen Fried last seen talking on a payphone outside of a convenience store in Claremont NH. As she was talking to her sister on the payphone Ellen Fried say there was a strange car that was driving back and forth in the area. Fried's body was found by the Sugar River in the Kelleyville area of Newport, NH on September 19, 1985. The autopsy couldn't found the cause of death of Ellen Fried but found evidence of multiple stab wounds. Over the years there would more victims but also there was one survivor in this case who attacks match the other cases. Eva Morse who was out hitchhiking by the border of Claremont and Charlestown NH on Route 12..Eva Morse 's body was found a year later in Unity, New Hampshire and 500 feet from where Mary Elizabeth Critchley was found. Like with the other murder victims Eva Morse dies from stab wounds and had ones to her neck. Than all most a year later on April 15, 1986, Lynda Moore was at her home in Saxtons River, Vermont doing yard works but when her husband came home to find her dead from multiple stab wounds. A number of witnesses report seeing a man between 20 and 25 years old, clean shaven, with a somewhat round face, and wearing dark-rimmed glasses in the area. On On January 10, 1987, Barbara Agnew was returning from a skiing trip with her friends in Stratton, Vermont later that day Agnew's green BMW was found at a rest stop in Hartford, Vermont. Inside of Agnew's car, there was blood on the steering wheel and the car’s door was cracked but Agnew was nowhere to be found All mos three months on March 28, 1987, Barbara Agnew's body was found in Hartland, Vermont like with all of the victims She dies from multiple stab wounds.

The last know attack came on August 6, 1988 when Jane Boroski was attacked at a closed convenience store in West Swanzey. Unlike the past attacks Jane Boroski survived her attack and give police some major detail on the man who attacked. One major detail was the man who attacked her drove a Jeep Wagoneer and also give description on what her attacker look like. An sketch was made and it the most use image for the CT Valley case and police hoped they could gain some major leads in the case with the details given to them by Jane Boroski. The New Hampshire State Police look at Jeep Wagoneer that would registered in by New Hampshire and Massachusetts but not leads would found for it. The case soon made the TV show unsolved mysteries that give the police one lead in the case to fellow. An Idaho law enforcement officer called the show saying that he recognize the man in the sketch as a person who was being held in a Idaho prison. The Police did fellow up on the lead but it not know where it when.

Over the years the police have looked at many possible suspects in this case without much luck calling one a prime suspect. One suspect that has been looked at is Delbert Tallman who was charged but acquitted of a similar murder around the same time the CT valley killer was active and also one of the Possible CT Valley killer’s victim was found. Tallman has lived in Bellows Falls, Springfield, and Windsor, Vermont, as well as Claremont, New Hampshire, the epicenter of most of the murders. An other suspect was Gary Westover from Grafton, New Hampshire who confession on his deathbed being part of the murder of Barbara Agnew. Westover Say him and group of his friends kidnaped and killed Barbara Agnew why out partying it unknown how far the lead.Westover was wheelchair bound and it made it unlikely he had any ties any of other CT valley murders. One suspect who has gain the most attention from the likes of the media and the internet is Michael Nicholaou an Vietnam veteran who had a long history of violence.The name Michael Nicholaou first came about when a Private investigator was hired in 2001 by the mother of Michelle Marie Ashley to find her daughter. Michelle Marie Ashley was lasr seen on December 1988, along with her two children and with her common-law husband, Michael Nicholaou. Why researching Michael Nicholaou the Private investigator found out his violence histroy like once facing murder charges in the miltary but the charges would dropped, As the private Investigator was looking for Michelle Ashley the PI found Michael Nicholaou living in Georgia by using Nicholaou's contact information with some cursory Internet research. As Private investigator talk to Nicholaou he denied knowing anything about the family's whereabouts but soon say Michelle Ashley run off and abandon her children. The Private investigator soon found Michelle Ashley's children and they would safe.By 2005 Nicholaou' had a second wife and so she left him and escape to her sister's house in Tampa, Florida but on New year's eve Nicholaou killed his wife,her daughter than himself.

The Private investigator started to do more research on Nicholaou and started trying to tie him to the CT Valley killer. She starts to build a case that could proof Nicholaou was tied to the Connecticut River Valley killings. Michael Nicholaou was living in Holyoke, Massachusetts around the the killings. Also Nicholaou drove a Jeep Wagoneer like the man who attacked Jane Boroski  and than Jane Boroski ID him as the man who attacked her. The tip made it to the media it soon became the Nicholau was the CT Valley killer and still get covered like. The PI also has say that Micharl Nicholau could be ties to the Colonial Parkway Killer, the Route 29 Stalker, the Blue Ridge Parkway Rapist, and the murderer of Julianne Williams and Lollie Winans at Shenandoah National Park because he also live in  Virginia at the time of the crime. Over the years the idea of Michael Nicholaou being ties to the CT Valley killings has been put into  question and put into major  doubt . With first being police not able to make a case for it and a factor that Michael Nicholaou was living in Virginia  around the time of three of the murders. More  recently on the ID Network show Dark Minds Jane Boroski ID an other man as who attacked her. Outside of some Circumstantial evidence there's no real proof of Nicholaou  being Connecticut River Valley Killer

As of right now, both   Vermont and New Hampshire Police are still Investigating the cases in the states’ cold cases units. The case still pops up in the news like the police are looking at someone ’s possible ties to the case. One of newest name that got look at was Robert Durst because he had possible connections to a VT missing person case. As of now it still a cold case without any true prime suspects to be named.

My Take
The first time I heard about the Connecticut River Valley Killer was I was reading about John Edward Brewer getting  charged with the murder of Michele LaFond. The reson why because the NHSP did say he was getting look at in the Connecticut River Valley Killer.  I been fellowing case for sometime now and have some views on it. I think Michael Nicholaou was overblown and he was not the Valley killer and I think the PI overhyped her case. I see the private investigator in this case just like that ex police officer who worked on the Edward Edwards case and overhyped everything. Still there are folks who want to  believe the idea but there just nothing to proof Nicholaou is the killer. When it come to it if this case is ever solve will be by physical evidence and not by eye witnesses. This case could be a project for the M-Vac System and the GED search could work in it. I do think the killer was from New Hampshire and the rason why he stop is because he was in jail or move away. I think if the Suspect is ever named it will be someone who never appear on the radar