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Police in Westerly, Rhode Island are investigating after human remains were discovered Wednesday morning in the Watch Hill neighborhood near Taylor Swift’s beachfront mansion. Swift purchased the home for around $17 million in 2013.
Upon arriving on the scene, police discovered what appeared to be a human leg bone. The remains were then collected and transferred them to the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s Office for further analysis, according to WJAR News.
“I saw three police cars — one undercover — two looked like Westerly town police officers, and there was a medical examiner pulling in behind me,” Taylor Day, a Westerly resident, said. “It kind of alarmed me, and it was just something very out of the ordinary for Westerly.”
She added, “It was probably a couple football fields away from Taylor Swift’s house and the Ocean House. I would never expect anything like that — especially not in Watch Hill.”
Interestingly, despite finding a human leg on the beach, the Westerly Police Department says no foul play is currently suspected.
“I would definitely disagree with that,” Day said. “I think finding a leg is very suspicious.”
There has been rampant speculation of late about the possibility of a serial killer being on the loose in the region. Over a dozen discoveries of human bodies and remains have occurred in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts since the beginning of March. Five were found in Massachusetts, five in Connecticut and three in Rhode Island.
“My mind immediately went to all the theories that are being thrown around,” Day said. “I’m more aware of my surroundings. I don’t go [to] places that are kind of dim or where I could be alone. Just trying to stay out in public and be vigilant.”
One man, Donald Coffel, 68, was arrested and accused of the murder of one of the Connecticut victims who was found dismembered and stuffed into a suitcase in March. Coffel died in the Corrigan Correctional Center on Friday.