Betzaida Montalvo, a 29-year-old mother of five known to her friends as "Betsy," was a loved person whose death was deeply felt by her community in Worcester, Massachusetts. She and her childhood friend, Carmen Rudy, grew up together in the same housing complex. Their lives, however, would be tragically intertwined and cut short by a predator who haunted the city's Main South neighborhood.
In April 2003, Betzaida vanished from Worcester.
She was last seen at the People in Peril (PIP) shelter on Main Street. Her family and friends were left with questions and growing fear as the days turned into weeks with no word. Betzaida's life had seen struggle; she battled drug addiction, which led to a criminal record for drug possession and periods of instability. She had been released from a jail in Framingham in December 2002, just a few months before she went missing. Despite her challenges, she was a mother, and a bracelet found with her would later speak to this core part of her identity.
The search for answers took a grim turn on September 24, 2003, when a group of students clearing a trail behind the Hillside School in Marlborough, Massachusetts, discovered skeletal remains. The area was vast and swampy, and initially, the bones were thought to be animal remains. As more were uncovered, authorities were called in. The remains were those of a petite woman, but identification was not immediate. Investigators released descriptions of her clothing—a teal zip-front sweatshirt, a red and black Guess brand shirt, and blue plaid pajama pants—and a distinctive piece of jewelry: a gold bracelet engraved with the words "#1 Mom."
Just five days later, on September 29, a second set of skeletal remains was found only 100 yards away on the same school grounds. These were quickly identified as 29-year-old Carmen Rudy, Betzaida's childhood friend, who had been missing for nearly a year, since September 30, 2002. The first body, however, remained "Jane Doe #1." It wasn't until March 2004 that the remains were formally identified as Betzaida Montalvo, after they were sent to the Smithsonian Institution and her DNA was matched with a sample from her youngest daughter.
The discoveries of Betzaida and Carmen, along with the subsequent finding of another victim, 33-year-old Dinelia Torres, in nearby Hudson in March 2004, led police to announce that a serial killer was likely responsible. The killer was dubbed the "Main South Woodsman" because his victims were all women with connections to Worcester's Main South area who were battling drug addiction and involved in sex work. The victims were all petite, Hispanic, and had dark hair. In total, the Woodsman is suspected of killing between three and five women between 2002 and 2007. Because the remains were skeletonized, the exact cause of death for victims like Betzaida could not be determined.
Years later, in 2008, authorities named a person of interest in the killings: Alex Scesny, a man with a history of violence and sexual abuse against women. An eerie connection placed Scesny on property owned by the Hillside School, near where the bodies of Betzaida and Carmen were found. In 2012, Scesny was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1996 murder of another woman, Theresa Stone. However, despite being questioned extensively and remaining the primary suspect, he has never been charged in connection with the Main South Woodsman murders.
Today, the murder of Betzaida Montalvo remains unsolved, as do the cases of the other women linked to the Main South Woodsman. Her case is a painful reminder of a string of brutal killings that targeted some of the most vulnerable members of the community. For her five children and the family and friends who loved her, there are still no definitive answers and no justice for the woman who wore a bracelet celebrating her role as "#1 Mom." The Worcester Police and Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate these cold cases, hoping for a tip that will finally close the file on a killer who hunted in the woods of central Massachusetts.
