"The man who lost his fiancee to Daniel T. Tavares Jr. believes the violent convict may be the serial killer
who took the lives of nine drug-involved prostitutes from the New Bedford area in the 1980s.
“He kept talking about them and saying, ‘I know that one.’ One was found buried in the yard,”
said Norman Sirois, who was engaged to marry Ann M. Tavares, 46, when she was stabbed
to death by her son on July 10, 1991. Sirois, 63, made his remarks yesterday after reading
accounts of how Tavares led state police to the remains of Gayle A. Botelho, 32, in 2000.
Botelho’s skeletal remains were unearthed on the grounds of 314 June St. in Fall River,
where Sirois said he rented an apartment with Ann Tavares, her killer son and his friend, Richard Pires, in the 1980s.
Botelho was last seen in October 1988 leaving her apartment, which was across the street.
In the past, investigators have said Botelho’s death was not linked to the prostitutes’ murders.
Sirois said the night Botelho went missing he came home from a party to find Daniel Tavares
staring out a window at a police cruiser outside the Prospect Street apartment where she lived.
“He says, ‘They’re looking for Gayle.’ I said, ‘Did you talk to the police?’ He said, ‘No.’ I never brought it up again.
How did he know they were looking for Gayle if he didn’t talk to the police?” asked Sirois,
who added that he did not know Botelho.
Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol district attorney, C. Samuel Sutter Jr., yesterday
declined to comment on Sirois’ comments.
“We are actively investigating all unsolved homicides from 1991 to 2006,” Miliote said. Paul F. Walsh Jr.,
who served as Bristol district attorney from 1991-2006, could not be reached for comment.
“I can’t prove it. It’s just so funny that everything stopped after he went to prison,” said Sirois,
who lived with Tavares for several years while he dated his mother. Sirois described
Tavares as a man who “lied through his teeth and” was always unemployed.
But regarding the Botelho case, “It’s my word against his,” he said."