WARWICK, Mass. (WWLP) – It’s been nearly 35 years since a woman’s remains were found in the Franklin County town of Warwick and on Thursday, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office identified her.
On June 24, 1989, a woman’s limbs were found off Route 78 in Warwick just a few miles away from the New Hampshire state line. The DA’s office has identified her as 65-year-old Constance Holminski Bassignani. Constance was a resident of Woonsocket, Rhode Island but had previously lived in Franklin. She was born in Hawaii in 1924.
Constance married her first husband in the 1940s but then divorced in 1944. She then married William Bassignani who was her husband up to the last time she was seen on Memorial Day in 1989.
William told family that she had moved back to Hawaii but investigators found no evidence that she ever moved back there. Following Memorial Day weekend, her family never heard from her again.
William is considered a person of interest in Constance’s murder but he died in 1993. Since there is no suspect identified, this case remains under investigation.
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The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office worked with Othram, a company from Texas that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy. The same forensic lab helped identify the remains in the “Granby Girl” case from 1978 and the remains in the “Lady of the Dunes” case from 1974.
“Once again, we are heartened to be able to identify and name the victim of a long unsolved homicide,” said DA David Sullivan. “The Massachusetts State Police and Northwestern District Attorney’s staff worked hard for this breakthrough. We hope it brings remaining family members one step closer to a sense of closure.
“Now that we know Constance’s identity, who she was married to at the time she disappeared, and where she lived, we are hopeful there may be someone out there who knows something, no matter how seemingly small or significant, that could help push this investigation forward,” said Assistant DA Steven Gagne.
If you have any information about the case, you are asked to contact the State Police Detective Unit at the Northwestern District Attorney’s office at 413-512-5361.