Two Men Convicted of Murder of Cape Verdean Woman in the US in 2022

Two men were convicted Friday of murdering Leila Duarte Da Luz, a 34-year-old Cape Verdean woman whose body was found in Carbuncle Pond, Rhode Island, in December 2022.

Gary Gromkiewicz, 37, and Michael Lambert, 47, were found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy. Leila, who immigrated to the United States from Cape Verde, was eight to 10 weeks pregnant with Gromkiewicz's child at the time of her death.

The crime shook the local and international Cape Verdean community. Leila was described as an educated young woman full of dreams. During the trial, which lasted ten days, prosecutor Stephen Dambruch said: “She had aspirations and hopes that were brutally interrupted in the early hours of December 21.”

According to the investigation, Leila was the victim of a combination of blunt force injuries and drowning. The suspects' route was mapped by authorities, who presented evidence that the two planned the murder, moving between Massachusetts and Rhode Island before abandoning the body in the lake.

This is the second homicide committed by Michael Lambert, who had already been convicted in 1994 for the murder of a homeless man. He served his sentence until 2022, when he was released and, months later, participated in Leila's murder.

The conviction of Gromkiewicz and Lambert represents an important step towards justice in the case, but the tragedy left a deep mark on the Cape Verdean community and the victim's family.

The two defendants will be sentenced on March 28.