Boston on Alert After Murder, 2 Brutal Attacks Within 24-Hour Period

BOSTON, July 26, 2013— -- Authorities in Boston are investigating the death of a 24-year-old woman who was forced to drive to five banks and was then stabbed to death by her kidnapper. Two other women had been brutally attacked within the same 24-hour window, according to police.

Amy Lord, police say, spent almost an hour driving to the banks starting at approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday to withdraw money after being kidnapped. Investigators believe that shortly after she visited the fifth bank, she was killed. Her car was found later that day, burned in South Boston.

Lord's body was found by a cyclist at approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday in a wooded area at the Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said Wednesday at a news conference. Conley said Lord was already reported missing after she failed to show up for an appointment.

A surveillance photo of Lord getting out of her vehicle was released by police.

Investigators have already arrested 28-year-old Edwin Alemany, who has been charged with punching a woman around 5 a.m. on Tuesday and stabbing a woman after midnight Wednesday in the same vicinity of South Boston.

"Like in all cases … we look at all cases that are occurring in the same geographic area and same time frame for possible connections," Conley said. "And at this point, we are not in a position to make a connection to the homicide of Amy Lord."

A judge ruled Alemany was mentally unfit to be arraigned Thursday and was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for observation. The court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Alemany has not been named a suspect in Lord's murder.

All three incidents have prompted police to issue warnings to the general public.

"Don't walk alone, be aware of your surroundings, have your cellphone ready. Don't listen to your iPhone when you're out walking by yourself. You should be aware of your surroundings and what's going on," Boston Police Supt. Chief Dan Linsky said.

Lord was a former honors student and varsity cheerleader. She was a 2011 graduate of Bentley University and worked as a digital media analyst with Genuine Interactive, ABC News affiliate WCVB-TV reported.

Her community recently came together to honor her at a vigil.

"She was my first real crush," Lord's friend Tim Fortin said. "She was the most beautiful girl in school, the most popular girl in school. She was loved by everyone."