2 Charged In Murder Of Pregnant Woman In RI

COVENTRY, RI — Two men have been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant woman a few days before Christmas at Carbuncle Pond in Coventry, Rhode Island State Police said in a Tuesday news release.

Leila Patricia Duarte Da Luz, age 34, of Brockton, Massachusetts, was found dead in the pond on December 21 with several lacerations to her head, launching a monthslong investigation, police said.

Gary R. Gromkiewicz, 35, of Lincoln, Rhode Island, who was the father of Da Luz’s unborn, and Michael P. Lambert, 46, a known associate of Gromkiewicz's, were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder on Tuesday in connection with Da Luz's death, according to police.

Gromkiewicz, who was on probation from a 2015 felony assault with a deadly weapon conviction, is being held at Rhode Island State Police headquarters until his arraignment Wednesday at the Kent County Courthouse, according to police.

Lambert, whose last known address was in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was out on parole from a 1995 murder conviction at the time of the murder, police said. He is incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions for violating his parole.

The investigation since December included the execution of 53 search warrants for evidence related to the murder, police said, adding that the framework for the charges was built with the help of witness interviews.

"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 the news release. "On behalf of the Rhode Island State Police, I extend my condolences to the loved ones of Ms. Da Luz at this difficult time."