Two cold cases that stumped Rhode Island prosecutors for decades were finally solved this week, but officials could not catch the killers in time.
Debra Stone and Cynthia McKenna both died of asphyxiation 23 years apart in the Ocean State, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha announced Wednesday.
“Today, we close the cases surrounding the deaths of Cynthia and Debra, and by doing so, we hope their families can finally feel a sense of closure,” Neronha said. “Victims have been, and will always be, our priority, and we will continue to deliver results for Rhode Islanders – through the Cold Case Unit, and Office-wide.”
Neronha launched his office’s cold case unit in 2023 to solve the multiple cold cases that have plagued the state with the mission to “deliver long-awaited answers for victims seemingly forgotten by time and for families who never gave up hope.”
Debra Stone
Stone, 24, was found dead in the Narrow River in Narragansett on Aug. 30, 1984.
Medical examiners ruled she died from asphyxiation caused by strangulation, with damage being found around her neck.
She was last seen the previous night when visiting the apartment of Robert D. Geremia in Johnstown.
Geremia is believed to have strangled Stone inside his home before stuffing her body into a sleeping bag and anchoring her down with a cinderblock into the river with the help of an unidentified person.
Police used the unidentified person as an informant whose eyewitness account matched evidence from the scene.
Geremia told police Stone had died of an overdose, but the medical examiner ruled out that cause of death based on the injuries found on her body.
One witness told investigators that Geremia disclosed to them he “had to kill” Stone because she was stealing from him, according to the attorney general’s office.
No arrests were made at the time and Stone’s murder remained unsolved until the cold case unit reopened the investigation in 2023 and re-interviewed 32 of the initial witnesses.
Geremia, who died in 1995, was named the suspect in Stone’s death.
“For over four decades, Debra’s family remained without answers after her life was tragically cut short,” Narragansett Police Chief Kyle Rekas said. “Through re-examining evidence and re-interviewing witnesses, our collaboration with the Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit has delivered answers for all who loved Debra. I commend our detectives and officers, as well as our partners in the Attorney General’s Office, for their tireless efforts in closing this case.”
Cynthia McKenna
McKenna, 49, was found unresponsive in bed at her North Providence apartment on Feb. 21, 2007 after the building’s manager hadn’t heard from her in days.
She was found tucked tightly in her bed with two pillows over her face, according to WPRI, citing the original police report.
Police uncovered the bedding around McKenna and found a sock stuffed in her mouth and tissues stuffed up each of her nostrils.
Officials ruled her cause of death as asphyxiation due to blocked airways.
Investigators learned about the hostile relationship she had with Robert J. Corry, Jr.
Corry was the subject of several domestic violence charges filed by McKenna who was also owed money from the suspect.
Corry gave an alibi to police about his whereabouts at the time of McKenna’s death but police found “significant gaps” in his story.
A confession to the McKenna’s murder sent to a known associate of Corry’s was intercepted by police in late 2007, officials revealed.
DNA evidence was found on the note, but Corry’s profile was never uploaded to the database and no connection could be made between him and the confession.
The Cold Case Unit used a Y-STR analysis in 2024, comparing male family members to the DNA on the note and corroborated Corry as the writer of the letter.
Officials tied the DNA results, the confession letter and Corry’s alleged admission of guilt to a witness as evidence he had killed McKenna by suffocation.
He died in 2014 and could not be charged with murder.
“This case represents the best of our collaborative investigative efforts with the Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit,” North Providence Police Chief Alfredo Ruggiero Jr said. “Using the latest forensic technology, our team has finally found answers for Cynthia’s family. I am thankful for the hard work of our detectives, as well as in the Attorney General’s Office, throughout the investigation.”
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