Pregnant Woman Was Found in R.I. Pond Days Before Christmas. The Unborn Baby's Father Was Just Arrested

A pregnant woman was found submerged in an icy Rhode Island pond in December, and now her fiancé is accused of murdering her.

On Dec. 21, the body of Leila Patricia Duarte Da Luz, 34, was found under the ice in Carbuncle Pond in Coventry after she was reported missing by family and friends, according to the Rhode Island State Police.

On Wednesday, following a months-long investigation, police announced the arrests of two men in connection with her death: her fiancé, Gary Gromkiewicz, 35, of Lincoln, and Michael Lambert, 46, of Pawtucket.

Gromkiewicz is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, state police said in a statement.

He is the father of Leila Duarte Da Luz's unborn baby and was on probation from a 2015 felony assault with a deadly weapon conviction, the statement said.

Lambert is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions for allegedly violating his parole.

At the time of the alleged murder, Lambert was out on parole after being convicted of the 1995 murder of a homeless man in Provicence, police said. He told police he met Gromkiewicz in prison, The Providence Journal reports.

On Dec. 21, police were called to Carbuncle Pond about a report of a deceased female submerged in the water.

"Once on scene, detectives observed that the unidentified female had sustained several lacerations to her head and determined that her death was suspicious," police said in the statement.

The following day, the Rhode Island Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and confirmed the manner of death as a homicide — and also that the victim was eight to 10 weeks pregnant.

Her body had been in the water for hours, according to the medical examiner, ABC6 reports.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, with a "compression fracture" to the skull as well as drowning, according to the medical examiner.

Water in her lungs indicated that she was alive when she entered the water, Assistant Attorney General John Corrigan said in Kent County District Court, ABC6 reports.

Da Luz was last seen leaving her home in Brockton at 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 21 with Gromkiewicz, Corrigan said in court, the Journal reports.

She was seen getting into the backseat of a dark-colored SUV with Rhode Island license plates that police say belonged to Lambert, Corrigan said.

The investigation revealed that their cell phones pinged near the pond, the prosecutor said.

Suspect Proposed to Another Woman After Da Luz's Death

In court Wednesday, Corrigan said that Gromkiewicz and Da Luz got engaged in October 2022 when she was pregnant with his child.

They got into a fight about the ring because he was using her money to buy it, Corrigan said,

On Dec. 19, they went to Macy's in Warwick Mall to buy an engagement ring, Corrigan said, the Journal reports.

She was wearing the ring — a diamond wedding band — when her body was found, Corrigan said, according to the Journal.

On Dec. 24, Gromkiewicz bought another engagement ring at a pawnshop in Fall River and proposed to another woman, Corrigan said, the Journal reports.

Gromkiewicz told his mother he broke up with Da Luz because he believe she was lying about the pregnancy, Corrigan said in court, according to the Journal.

The mother told police that the woman Gromkiewicz proposed to told him he had to choose between her and Da Luz because he couldn't afford to support two families, Corrigan said, the Journal reports.

Gromkiewicz and Lambert were ordered held without bail on Wednesday, WJAR reports.

They have not yet entered pleas, according to online court records.

It is unclear whether Gromkiewicz and Lambert have retained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.