The Connecticut River Valley Killer, also called the Valley Killer, is the name given to an unknown serial killer who is thought to have killed at least seven young women in the Connecticut River Valley area of New England between 1978 and 1988.

In 1985 and 1986, the bones of two victims were found within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of each other in a forested area in Kelleyville, New Hampshire. Examinations showed that both had suffered multiple stab wounds. Between the discovery of the first and second bodies, a 36-year-old woman was killed by a violent attack inside her home in Saxtons River, Vermont. Ten days later, the remains of a third missing woman were found nearby, also showing signs of stab wounds. At this time, investigators looked into earlier killings in the area and found two more cases from 1978 and 1981, which supported the idea that a serial killer was active.

During the height of the investigation, after more murders and one attack that did not result in death, investigators noticed similarities in the killer’s methods, common places where bodies were hidden, and specific injury patterns that connected many of the crimes. It appeared that the murders stopped in 1988 after a woman survived an encounter with the killer.

Victims

• On October 24, 1978, Catherine Millican, a 27-year-old woman, left work and went to the Chandler Brook Wetland Preserve in New London, New Hampshire, to photograph birds. Her body, with at least 29 stab wounds, was found only a few yards from where she was last seen.

• On July 25, 1981, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Critchley, a 37-year-old student from the University of Vermont, disappeared near Interstate 91 at the Massachusetts-Vermont border while hitchhiking to Waterbury, Vermont. She was last seen by a friend who dropped her off near Exit 13 of the Massachusetts Turnpike. On August 9, her body was found in a wooded area off Unity Stage Road in Unity, New Hampshire, about 80 miles from where she was last seen. The medical examiner could not determine the cause of death because the body was in poor condition.

• On May 30, 1984, Bernice Courtemanche, a 17-year-old nurse’s aide and high school student, was last seen by her boyfriend’s mother in Claremont, New Hampshire. She was thought to be heading to see her boyfriend in Newport by hitchhiking along New Hampshire Route 12. She did not reach her destination and was reported missing. On April 19, 1986, a fisherman found her remains near the Sugar River in Newport. Forensic tests showed knife wounds to the chest and a head injury. Her throat had been slit.

• On July 22, 1984, Ellen Ruth Fried, a 26-year-old nurse at Valley Regional Hospital, was last seen using a payphone at Leo’s Market in Claremont, New Hampshire, around 2 a.m. She spoke on the phone for about an hour with her sister, mentioning a strange car near the parking lot. She briefly stepped away from the phone to check her car and then returned for a few more minutes. The next day, Fried did not go to work, and her car was found abandoned on Jarvis Road, a few miles from the payphone. Her skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area near the Sugar River on September 19, 1985. An autopsy showed multiple stab wounds and signs of possible sexual assault.

• On July 10, 1985, Eva Marie Morse, a 27-year-old mother, was last seen hitchhiking near the border of Charlestown, New Hampshire, on Route 12. On April 25, 1986, her remains were found by loggers in Unity, New Hampshire, about 500 feet from where Betsy Critchley’s body was discovered in 1981. An autopsy found knife wounds to Morse’s chest and neck.

• On April 15, 1986, Lynda Moore, a 36-year-old woman, was doing yard work outside her home in Saxtons River, Vermont, near Route 121 at 2 p.m. while her husband was at work. That evening, her husband returned home an hour later and found his wife’s body in the living room, with 25 knife wounds. The crime scene suggested a struggle had occurred. There were no signs of forced entry or ransacking. Witnesses saw a slightly stocky, dark-haired man with a blue knapsack near Moore’s home the day of the murder. He was thought to be 20–25 years old, clean-shaven, with a round face and dark-rimmed glasses. A composite sketch was released the following year. A true crime podcast called Dark Valley suggested that the man was identified and ruled out by police.

• On January 10, 1987, Barbara Agnew, a 38-year-old nurse, was last seen heading home in Norwich, Vermont. That evening, a snowplow driver found her green BMW at a rest stop on Interstate 91 in Hartford, Vermont. The door was cracked, and there was blood on the steering wheel and back seat. Some of her bloodstained belongings were in a nearby dumpster. On March 28, 1987, her body was found near an apple tree on Advent Hill Road in Hartland, Vermont, 12 miles from the rest stop. She had been stabbed in the neck and chest and had defensive wounds. One wound was described as "disabling."

• On August 6, 1988, Jane Boroski, a 22-year-old woman who was seven months pregnant, was returning from a county fair in Keene, New Hampshire, when she stopped at a closed convenience store in West Swanzey to buy soda. She noticed a Jeep Wagoneer parked next to her car. The driver approached her window and asked if the payphone was working. He then grabbed her and pulled her out of the car. Boroski struggled, and the man accused her of beating up his girlfriend and asked if she had Massachusetts license plates. She said she had New Hampshire plates, but he stabbed her 27 times before driving away. Boroski returned to her car and drove toward a friend’s house for help. As she neared the house, she saw the attacker’s Jeep. She reached her friend’s home, where people helped her. The attacker performed a U-turn and passed by the house before speeding away. Boroski was treated at a hospital, where doctors found a severed jugular vein, two collapsed lungs, a kidney injury, and damaged tendons in her knees and thumb. Her baby survived but was later diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy. Boroski provided a composite sketch and the first three letters of the attacker’s license plate. The killings stopped after this attack, and the case went cold, with Boroski as the only survivor.

• On June 11, 1968, Joanne Dunham, a 15-year-old girl, was last seen walking from her home in Charlestown, New Hampshire, to her bus stop on her way to school. Her body was found the next day on Quaker City Road in Unity, New Hampshire

Possible suspects

In 2006, private investigator Lynn-Marie Carty suggested that Michael Nicholaou, who shot his separated wife and stepdaughter before taking his own life on New Year's Eve 2005, might be the Connecticut River Valley Killer. At first, Carty said Nicholaou could be a suspect. However, in an interview for the Dark Valley Podcast, attack survivor Jane Boroski stated she does not believe Michael Nicholaou was her attacker.