Christina Monteiro,19, May Have Been The Victim Of A Serial Killer in 1988
Back in the late 1980s, residents of New Bedford, Massachusetts were living in fear. In the span of one year, the bodies of nine women who were missing from the New Bedford area were found alongside highways in nearby towns including Dartmouth, Westport, and Freetown. An investigation would lead authorities to believe that they were hunting a serial killer, dubbed the New Bedford Highway Killer, and while Christina Monteiro has never been found, it’s suspected that she is one of his victims.
The New Bedford Highway Killer sought out a specific type of victim. The nine murdered women had a few commonalities: They were prostitutes, drug abusers, or engaged in both activities. Victims included Robbin Rhodes (28), Rochelle Clifford Dopierala (28), Debroh Lynn McConnell (25), Debra Medeiros (30), Nancy Paiva (36), Debra DeMello (35), Mary Rose Santos (26), Sandra Botelho (24), and Dawn Mendes (25). All of the women were last seen sometime in 1988, and they were located either later on that year or in 1989.
Not only was this unknown killer linked to a number of assaults against other women who survived their attacks, but it’s believed that two missing women, Marilyn Roberts (34) and Christina Monteiro (19), may have fallen victim to the serial killer. Christina was last contacted in May 1988, the same month that Debroh and Debra went missing, and just a month before Marilyn vanished. Reports state that it was sometime in either May or possibly June that Christina’s family last heard from her, but someone claims to have seen her in New Bedford in July. What happened to Christina Monteiro remains a mystery and there have been no clues to unravel what could have occurred.
At the time of her disappearance, Christina Monteiro was 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and 110 pounds. She had brown hair, brown eyes, scars on both arms, scars on both wrists, and a scar somewhere around her left eye. Christina has tattoos on her arms that are described as “initials and words.” She was last seen wearing a shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. She would be 51-years-old at the time of this publication.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the New Bedford Police Department at (508) 991-6300, the Unsolved Homicide Tip Line at 1-866-SOLVE-07, or their local authorities.
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