Ex and accomplice sentenced after beating pregnant woman and leaving her to drown in R.I. pond
03/31/2025 4:01 pm PDT
COVENTRY, R.I. (TCN) -- Two men will spend the rest of their lives behind bars in connection with the death of a pregnant woman who was found dead in a body of water.
The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office announced March 28 that a judge sentenced 48-year-old Michael Lambert and 37-year-old Gary Gromkiewicz to life in prison with an additional 10 years for murder and conspiracy to murder Leila Duarte DaLuz. A jury found the defendants guilty in January.
According to prosecutors, in the early hours of Dec. 21, 2022, Gromkiewicz and Lambert drove to Brockton, Massachusetts, to pick up DaLuz from her home. DaLuz, who was pregnant at the time, was reportedly Gromkiewicz’s ex-girlfriend. The defendants allegedly drove the victim around Rhode Island and made multiple stops, according to digital data and video surveillance.
The attorney general’s office said a fisherman later found DaLuz’s body in Carbuncle Pond beneath the ice. She had reportedly sustained lacerations to her head. The medical examiner determined she had suffered blunt force trauma and there was water in her lungs, suggesting she was alive when she was in the pond.
According to prosecutors, investigators concluded that the defendants "viciously assaulted" the victim and "left her to drown."
Attorney General Peter Neronha said, "Leila’s life ended under horrible circumstances, but her life is not defined by her death. As National Crime Victims’ Rights Week nears, we must all recommit ourselves to centering victims, including the families of victims, within our understanding of true justice. While nothing can bring Leila back to her loved ones, I hope that these life sentences bring them a sense of closure and peace. I am very grateful to both juries for getting this right, and to the Rhode Island State Police for their hard work on this complex case."
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