You’ve probably seen the headlines or heard the hushed whispers in New Britain. Seven bodies. One man. A blue van. Honestly, the story of the most prolific serial killer in Connecticut is much darker than a simple true crime summary. It’s a story about a "garden" that wasn't for flowers.
Most people think of the 1980s when they hear about serial killers. They think of Michael Ross, the "Roadside Strangler" who was executed in 2005. But William Devin Howell? He was operating in 2003. Right under everyone's noses.
Howell didn't just kill. He lived with his victims. He kept one woman in his van for two weeks because the ground was too frozen to dig. He called her his "baby." It’s the kind of detail that makes your skin crawl, and it's exactly what he told his cellmate, Jonathan Mills.
The Secret Garden of New Britain
The case basically broke wide open behind a shopping plaza on Hartford Road. Between 2007 and 2015, investigators pulled remains from a marshy, wooded patch of land. Howell called it his "garden."
Kinda twisted, right?
He wasn't some criminal mastermind. He was a drifter. He did odd jobs. He mowed lawns. He drove a 1985 Ford Econoline van that he later admitted was his "murder mobile." That's where he did it. The van was his home, his transport, and his execution chamber.
- Melanie Ruth Camilini: Missing since New Year’s Day, 2003.
- Janice Roberts: A 44-year-old transgender woman last seen in Wethersfield.
- Nilsa Arizmendi: The case that eventually tripped him up.
- Diane Cusack: A 55-year-old whose family hadn't heard from her in years.
- Marilyn Gonzalez: A young mother of two from Waterbury.
- Joyvaline Martinez: A former track star.
- Mary Jane Menard: A substance abuse counselor who was trying to help people.
The sheer variety of his victims is what confused police for so long. There wasn't a "type" in the traditional sense, other than people he perceived as vulnerable. Mostly, they were people struggling with addiction or living on the margins. People Howell thought no one would miss.
He was wrong.
Why the Serial Killer in Connecticut Remained Hidden
It took over a decade to find everyone. Why? Because the "garden" was a nightmare to search. It was swampy. It was thick with brush.
In 2007, they found the first three sets of remains: Diane Cusack, Joyvaline Martinez, and Mary Jane Menard. But then the trail went cold. It wasn't until 2015 that the Greater New Britain Serial Murder Task Force went back with specialized dogs and equipment to find the rest.
They found Nilsa Arizmendi, Marilyn Gonzalez, and Melanie Camilini. And they found Janice Roberts.
Howell was already in prison by then. He’d been convicted of manslaughter in 2007 for Arizmendi’s death. He thought he’d gotten away with the rest. He even bragged to cellmates. He described himself as a "sick ripper."
Actually, the forensic evidence in the van was what really sealed it. Even though he’d removed the seat cushions, blood had soaked into the floorboards. DNA doesn't lie.
The Psychology of a "Sick Ripper"
Howell’s own words—recorded in letters to author Anne K. Howard—reveal a man who was shockingly matter-of-fact about his violence. He claimed he didn't enjoy the killing. He said he killed to "conceal the evidence."
"As I choked them out I was thinking—just hurry up and die," he once wrote.
It sounds cold. It is. But it also shows a different kind of serial killer profile. He wasn't necessarily seeking a "signature." He was a predator who viewed human lives as obstacles to his own freedom.
Interestingly, he had a weird sense of "mercy" in his own head. He told Howard he couldn't bring himself to hit Melanie Camilini with a hammer a second time because he "didn't have the heart," so he strangled her instead. The logic is nonsensical to a healthy mind, but it’s a peek into the compartmentalization of a killer.
How He Was Finally Caught
The break came from a boyfriend. Nilsa Arizmendi’s boyfriend told police she had gotten into a blue van with a man who did odd jobs at a motel in Wethersfield.
Police found the van in North Carolina. They found the blood. They found the "bizarre" videotapes.
Even then, without a body, the state could only charge him with manslaughter. It took years of investigative grit and the eventual discovery of the "garden" to upgrade those charges to six counts of murder.
In 2017, he finally stood in a New Britain courtroom. He cried. He apologized. He said he deserved the death penalty. But Connecticut had abolished it by then.
He got 360 years instead. Six consecutive life sentences.
Other Shadows: Michael Ross and the Valley Killer
You can't talk about a serial killer in Connecticut without mentioning the others. It’s a small state, but it has a heavy history.
Michael Ross, the "Roadside Strangler," was a different beast entirely. Highly educated. Cornell graduate. An insurance salesman. He targeted young women on the eastern side of the state in the early 80s.
Ross was the first person Connecticut executed in 45 years when he died by lethal injection in 2005. Unlike Howell, who hid his victims, Ross often left them in culverts or wooded areas near roads.
Then there's the one that still keeps people up at night: The Connecticut River Valley Killer.
This person is still unidentified. In the late 70s and 80s, seven women were murdered along the I-91 corridor. One woman, Jane Boroski, survived being stabbed 27 times while she was seven months pregnant. She’s still out there today, telling her story and reminding people to stay vigilant.
Is there a connection between all these cases? No. They are different men with different motives operating in different eras. But they all share one thing: they shattered the sense of safety in "The Land of Steady Habits."
Common Misconceptions About Serial Killers in the State
"It doesn't happen here."
People often think of Connecticut as a safe, suburban bubble. The truth is, drifters like Howell use the dense woods and industrial pockets of the state to hide their crimes.
"The victims were all the same."
Not even close. From a 14-year-old girl (Ross's victim) to a 55-year-old grandmother (Howell's victim), the targets were varied. The common thread was often just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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"Technology solves everything."
It took 12 years to find all of Howell's victims. Even with modern DNA, it takes boots on the ground and old-fashioned police work to close these cases.
Lessons from the "Garden" Case
If there's anything to take away from the William Devin Howell investigation, it's that community vigilance matters. The boyfriend who remembered the blue van was the catalyst for the whole investigation.
If you're interested in the deeper details of this case, here's what you can do to stay informed:
- Read "His Garden" by Anne K. Howard. She spent years corresponding with Howell. It’s the most direct look into his mind you’ll ever get.
- Support Cold Case Units. The Connecticut State Police have a dedicated cold case unit that still works on unidentified remains. Following their updates can help bring closure to other families.
- Stay Aware of Your Surroundings. It sounds like a cliché, but the survivors of these predators often mention a "gut feeling" they ignored. Trusting that instinct is vital.
The "Sick Ripper" is behind bars at Cheshire Correctional Institution, likely to die there of old age or his failing health. The garden is empty now. But for the families of those seven people, the history of the serial killer in Connecticut isn't just a story—it's a wound that's only just started to heal.
To understand more about the legal aftermath of these cases, you can look into the 2015 Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that officially abolished the death penalty, which is why Howell is serving life instead of facing execution. For real-time updates on active cold cases in the New England area, the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection maintains a public database of missing persons and unsolved homicides.
Ultimately, the best way to honor the victims is to remember their names—not just the man who took them. Mary Jane, Joyvaline, Diane, Melanie, Marilyn, Janice, and Nilsa. They were more than a "garden." They were people.