Soon after District Attorney Sam Sutter was sworn into office in early 2007, he began creating a “Cold Case Squad.”

The District Attorney has pledged to make previously unsolved homicides one of the top priorities in his office. He has described the cold cases as “open wounds” for families and the community.

To further his goal of pinpointing cold cases that could be solved, District Attorney Sutter has created a team of talented prosecutors and state police detectives with experience solving these kinds of cases.

During just the first year of this renewed effort to unsolved homicides, the District Attorney’s Office has brought charges in three cold case murders, including one that dates back to 1986.

District Attorney Sutter is committed to making every effort to solve more of these cases, and as part of that effort, has created this new web page to spur more tips from the general public.

This page will be routinely updated with more photos of unsolved homicide victims and details about their murders.

If you or anyone you know has any information about these cases, please contact us by calling our Unsolved Homicide Tip Line at 1-866-SOLVE-07.  Callers can remain anonymous if they wish.

Thank you for taking the time to help bring murderers to justice.

Debbie Greenlaw Perry DeMello, white female, from the Brockton area, went missing in early August, 1988. Her body was found by a Department of Public Works employee on November 7, 1988 on the ramp from Reed Road south to 195 East. She worked in the Weld Square area of New Bedford as a prostitute and was known to have lived with several different people in the Weld Square area.	Debbie McConnell, from the Newport, RI and Fall River area. It is believed she went missing sometime in June of 1988. Her body was found on Route 140 Northbound in Freetown on December 1, 1988 by a search dog. She worked the Weld Square area of New Bedford as a prostitute and was also known to frequent bars on the lower end of County Street.	Debra Medeiros, from Fall River, went missing in late May or early June of 1988. She was last seen in New Bedford. Her body was ffound on July 3, 1988 on Route 140 North in Freetown by a woman who was walking in the woods. She also worked the Weld Square area of New Bedford as a prostitute.
Dawn Mendes, from New Bedford, went missing on September 4, 1988. She was last seen leaving her home. Her body was found on November 29, 1988 by a cadaver dog on the ramp from Reed Road to Rte. 195 Westbound. She worked the Weld Square area as a prostitute.	Mary Santos, from New Bedford and Freetown, went missing on July 15, 1988. Her body was found on March 31, 1989 by two boys who were walking along the breakdown lane on Route 88 Southbound in Westport, approximately 10 feet into a wooded area. She worked the Weld Square area of New Bedford and the downtown bus terminal as a prostitute.	Nancy Paiva, from New Bedford, went missing on July 7, 1988. She was last seen in the South End of New Bedford. Her body was found on July 30, 1988 on Rte. 195 Westbound in Dartmouth by two men on motorcycles. She worked the lower County Street area of New Bedford as a prostitute and was also known to frequent the bars in that section of the city.
Rochelle Clifford, from Falmouth and areas on the Cape, had been living in different homes and apartments in the New Bedford area before her death. It is believed she went missing in April of 1988. Her body was found on December 10, 1988 in a sand pit in Dartmouth by two hunters. She worked the Weld Square area of New Bedford as a prostitute.	Robin Rhodes, from New Bedford, went missing in late May of 1988.  Her body was found on March 28, 1989 on Route 140 Southbound in Freetown by a search dog.  It is believed she worked the bars as a prostitute in the South End of New Bedford and out of her home. She was also known to frequent Magazine World in the Weld Square area of New Bedford.	Sandra Botelho, from New Bedford, went missing on August 11, 1988. Her body was found on April 24, 1989 on Route 195 Westbound in the town of Marion.  She worked the Weld Square area of New Bedford and the upper Purchase Street area as a prostitute.

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