It is truly frightening to think about the possibility of a serial killer living in your town. Just recently the residents of New Britain had to live that nightmare as seven people went missing and were later found deceased. A Connecticut serial killer had been terrorizing the town in a cold, quiet and calculating way. Fortunately with the November 17th sentencing of this man, the horrifying saga of a brutal serial killer is coming to an end in Connecticut.
New Britain, Connecticut is located southwest of our state capitol, Hartford. The population is approximately 73,000 residents. Those citizens learned in 2007 that there was something amiss in their town when bodies began to be discovered.
Three bodies were discovered in wooded area behind a strip mall first in 2007. The serial killer, William Devon Howell, referred to the area that he chose to bury his victims as "his garden".
The police later returned to the same site in 2015 and discovered the remains of the other victims. Police dogs were extremely helpful in aiding in the searches.
Howell was already serving time in connection with one of the killings and in September of 2017, Howell plead guilty to six additional murders. His victims included Joyvaline Martinez, Diane Cusack, Mary Jane Menard, Melanie Ruth Camilini, Marilyn Gonzalez, Danny Lee Whistnant and Nilsa Arizmendi
A cellmate of Howell's reported that he dubbed himself "the sick ripper" and that he nicknamed his van, the "murder mobile". The cellmate also disclosed that the first murder Howell committed was of a woman that he had raped in his van. Howell also kept the body with him inside the van for two weeks sleeping next to it because it was too cold outside for him to bury the victim, the cellmate told authorities.
This Connecticut serial killer also sexually assaulted three of his female victims. Police reported that there was blood that matched one of the victims found in his van along with videotapes of Howell having sex with the women.
Howell is originally from Hampton, Virginia and was a drifter along the East Coast. He was working in Connecticut doing odd jobs at the time that he began his killing spree in 2003.
On Friday November 17, 2017, Howell was sentenced to 360 years in prison as a punishment for his heinous crimes. Howell who is 47 years old has no hope of ever getting out and this terrifying Connecticut serial killer is now off the streets forever.
