Two men responsible for Carbuncle Pond murder to serve life in state prison
Published on Friday, March 28, 2025
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that two Rhode Island men have been sentenced in Kent County Superior Court to life in prison for the murder of Leila Duarte DaLuz, whose body was recovered from Carbuncle Pond in Coventry on December 21, 2022.
At a hearing on March 28, 2025, Superior Court Justice Luis M. Matos sentenced Michael Lambert (age 48) and Gary Gromkiewicz (age 37) to life in prison, plus an additional 10 years, for the murder and conspiracy to murder Leila Duarte DaLuz.
On January 17, 2025, following a 10-day jury trial, a jury found each of the defendants guilty of one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. For this trial, Judge Matos sat two separate juries, each of which delivered convictions for their respective defendants.
“Today’s sentencing is a just conclusion to a truly devastating case,” said Attorney General Neronha. “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.”
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that during the early morning hours of December 21, 2022, the defendants viciously assaulted Leila Duarte DaLuz and left her to drown in Carbuncle Pond.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on December 21, 2022, Gromkiewicz and Lambert traveled to Brockton, Mass. to pick up Ms. Duarte DaLuz at her home. The victim was Gromkiewicz’s ex-girlfriend and was pregnant at the time. According to cell phone location data and video surveillance footage, they then drove throughout Rhode Island over the course of the morning, making multiple stops, including in the Buttonwoods section of Warwick and at a Lincoln gas station/convenience store.
At approximately 6:18 a.m., investigators tracked their travel to western Coventry, in an area where Carbuncle Pond is located, and where investigators recovered the body of Ms. Duarte DaLuz.
The victim was found by a local fisherman in Carbuncle Pond, beneath the ice, with lacerations on her head. According to the medical examiner’s report, the victim sustained blunt force trauma to the head. The medical examiner also found water in her lungs, indicating she was alive when she entered the water.
Criminal Division Chief Stephen Dambruch and Assistant Attorney General John Corrigan of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Corporal Robert Hopkins and Detective James Hudson of the Rhode Island State Police led the investigation and prosecution of the case.
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