A statement from the police addressed the mounting concerns about a ‘New England Serial Killer’ following the discovery of the 12th death in four months.

Authorities announced last week that the body of 39-year-old Stephan Myers was discovered on April 30 near Bristol Plymouth High School in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Boston 25 News reports that Myers was shot once at a neighbouring construction site and died as a result. Officials verified that he had no affiliation with the school.

The death of the victim follows a series of gory findings that have been made since early March in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

The discovery of bodies in rivers, forests, and even within a suitcase has stoked widespread conjecture that a serial murderer may be active throughout the tri-state region. Law enforcement, however, is still resisting this narrative.

“While online conversations around these incidents continue to grow, we urge the public to be mindful of the role that social media can play in spreading fear or misinformation,” Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said via a statement.

“Unverified claims can compromise active investigations and contribute to a sense of chaos that does not reflect the full picture,” he added.

After multiple female victims were found in quick succession, the rumours intensified.

These include Michele Romano, 56, who was found in a rural area off Plainfield Pike on March 25, Paige Aliehs Fannon, 35, whose body was recovered from the Norwalk River on March 6, and Denise Leary, 59, who was located in a wooded area behind Rock Creek Road on March 20.

Other incidents include decaying bodies found in New Haven and Foster, and human remains found in Plymouth, Framingham, and Killingly.

Despite the growing list of victims, Connecticut State Police have maintained: “There is no information at this time suggesting any connection to similar remains discoveries, and there is also no known threat to the public.”

However, Ted Williams, a retired homicide detective in Washington, D.C., stated that detectives are still considering all possibilities.

“They are primarily at the preliminary stages of gathering evidence at each one of these death scenes to try to establish a nexus between those scenes and a single individual or individuals,” he told Fox News.

The specifics are nevertheless “curious,” according to Peter Valentin, Chair of the University of New Haven’s Forensic Science Department, particularly in situations like the Springfield death, which he described as “very recent,” as opposed to others that seem older or more decayed.

“I am curious about what was recovered around the body,” he said. “There might have been paraphernalia suggestive of activity that is deemphasizing homicide (perhaps incorrectly) to the investigators because that article is quite tepid. It is filled with very cautious language (surely taken right from police press releases), which might be intentional to not feed into what is now turning into intense scrutiny over every suspicious death in New England.”

Social media groups have increased public dread; “New England Serial Killer” was the original name of one Facebook community, which grew to over 65,000 members before being renamed.

The trend has been described as “sinister” by online forums, and in early April, Google searches for “New England serial killer” increased.

However, law enforcement is still determined to avoid sensationalist labelling. “Online rumours are just that,” said Ryan Walsh, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department.

Former FBI instructor Scott Duffey added that while nothing points conclusively to a serial killer, people should stay alert. “Don’t let your guard down,” he warned, cited by The New York Post. “Be aware of your surroundings… someone looking to take advantage of a vulnerable situation will do so.”

Officials advise against drawing hasty conclusions while investigations and autopsies are ongoing. The public is still torn between reality, anxiety, and conjecture.