Pair indicted for murder of pregnant woman found in Coventry pond

COVENTRY, R.I. (WLNE) — Two men were indicted for the murder of a pregnant woman found in Carbuncle Pond in Coventry last winter.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and State Police Col. Darnell Weaver announced Thursday that a jury returned indictments charging Michael Lamert and Gary Gromkiewicz each with one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

Lambert, 46, and Gromkiewicz, 36, were held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

Authorities said that as alleged in court, the two, who met in prison, went to Brockton in the early hours of Dec. 21, 2022 to pick up Leila Duarte Da Luz.

Da Luz was Gromkiewicz’s ex-girlfriend, and she was pregnant with his child.

Investigators used cell phone location data to track their drive through Rhode Island.

Video surveillance footage captured them at numerous local gas stations and convenience stores.

Video from a store in Lincoln showed Lambert looking at his left hand, which looked like it had a cut or abrasion.

The cell phone data later tracked the three to western Coventry.

Da Luz’s body was found by a fisherman at Carbuncle Pond.

Investigators said her body was underneath the ice with lacerations on her head. The medical examiner’s report said that she had water in her lungs, meaning she was alive when she got into the water.

Lambert and Gromkiewicz are set to be arraigned in Kent County Superior Court on Sept. 29.