Police are investigating whether the gruesome murders of two women in Niagara Falls, New York, were the work of a serial killer.

The dismembered remains of Terri Lynn Bills were found last month, three years after the discovery of Loretta Gates.

Detectives have noted the women, who knew each other through a family connection, also look similar.

Some 90 officers from the Niagara Falls Police Department, FBI, New York State Police and other agencies are on the case.

Image: A Maid of the Mist tourist boat at Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls Police Capt Kelly Rizzo told WKBW: "You can't overlook that the two homicides share a lot of similarities.


"It is hard not to make that connection."

But he said they have not ruled out that separate individuals could have committed the crimes.

The torso of Ms Gates, 30, was spotted by a tourist aboard the Maid of the Mist boat, floating in the waters of the Niagara River just below the falls in September 2012.

Her arm and leg were found soon afterwards by a fisherman floating downriver near Devil's Hole.

Days later, a couple on a walk in a park found Ms Gates' head and hand in a plastic bag.

The headless, limbless torso of 46-year-old Ms Bills was discovered on 16 June by a passer-by who noticed a bad smell coming from the basement of an abandoned home.

She was identified by a tattoo.