YaYa_521
Retired WS Staff
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Cold Cases - Arrests and Convictions
WILLIAM DEVIN HOWELL pled guilty to killing five women and a man whose bodies were found in a wooded area of New Britain after he was previously convicted of manslaughter in the slaying of another woman. Howell entered pleas to six counts of Murder in New Britain Superior Court, where he was sentenced in November 2017 to 360 years in prison, or six consecutive life sentences.
Howell was formally charged on September 18, 2015, in the deaths of three women whose identities under Connecticut state law are confidential because they were victims of sexual assault. He also was charged in the deaths of Marilyn Gonzalez, born October 16, 1976, who was last seen on May 16, 2003, in Waterbury; Mary Jane Menard, born May 7, 1963, and who went missing in October 2003; and Danny Lee Whistnant, born October 5, 1958, and who was reported missing on June 24, 2003.
Howell is serving six sentences of life in prison. Under Connecticut law, life in prison is defined as 60 years with a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years on each count, resulting in a total effective sentence of 360 years, 150 years of which are mandatory.
The remains of the six victims were found buried in a wooded area behind a shopping center on Hartford Road in New Britain. At the time he was charged in those deaths, Howell was in prison for his conviction for Manslaughter in the First Degree for the homicide of Nilsa Arizmendi. She was last seen alive on July 25, 2003, in Wethersfield. Her remains were found in the same wooded area of New Britain where the other victims were buried.
His arrest was the result of an investigation by the Greater New Britain Serial Murder Task Force, which was established to investigate the cases. The task force included members of the New Britain, Hartford, Wethersfield, Waterbury and East Hartford police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain. The task force was assisted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Division of Scientific Services Forensic Science Laboratory, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, the Hampton Police Department in Virginia and the Bertie County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.
William Devin Howell - Convicted
WILLIAM DEVIN HOWELL pled guilty to killing five women and a man whose bodies were found in a wooded area of New Britain after he was previously convicted of manslaughter in the slaying of another woman. Howell entered pleas to six counts of Murder in New Britain Superior Court, where he was sentenced in November 2017 to 360 years in prison, or six consecutive life sentences.
Howell was formally charged on September 18, 2015, in the deaths of three women whose identities under Connecticut state law are confidential because they were victims of sexual assault. He also was charged in the deaths of Marilyn Gonzalez, born October 16, 1976, who was last seen on May 16, 2003, in Waterbury; Mary Jane Menard, born May 7, 1963, and who went missing in October 2003; and Danny Lee Whistnant, born October 5, 1958, and who was reported missing on June 24, 2003.
Howell is serving six sentences of life in prison. Under Connecticut law, life in prison is defined as 60 years with a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years on each count, resulting in a total effective sentence of 360 years, 150 years of which are mandatory.
The remains of the six victims were found buried in a wooded area behind a shopping center on Hartford Road in New Britain. At the time he was charged in those deaths, Howell was in prison for his conviction for Manslaughter in the First Degree for the homicide of Nilsa Arizmendi. She was last seen alive on July 25, 2003, in Wethersfield. Her remains were found in the same wooded area of New Britain where the other victims were buried.
His arrest was the result of an investigation by the Greater New Britain Serial Murder Task Force, which was established to investigate the cases. The task force included members of the New Britain, Hartford, Wethersfield, Waterbury and East Hartford police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain. The task force was assisted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Division of Scientific Services Forensic Science Laboratory, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, the Hampton Police Department in Virginia and the Bertie County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.
