William Devin Howell | Sick Ripper feat. Anne K. Howard - Part 1
01:03:51 Share

Love this podcast? Support this show through the ACAST supporter feature. It's up to you how much you give, and there's no regular commitment. Just click the link in the show description to support now.

Did you know one in two women wear the wrong foundation? Matching foundation is hard, but Il Makiage makes it easy. Take the Power Match Quiz to find a better match in seconds, customized for your unique skin tone, undertone, and coverage needs. With 600,000 five-star reviews, this best-selling foundation is going viral for a reason. Available in 50 shades of weightless natural coverage. And with Try Before You Buy, you can try your full size at home for 14 days. Just

Just pay shipping. Take the quiz at ilmakiage.com slash quiz. That's I-L-M-A-K-I-A-G-E dot com slash quiz. Millions of people have lost weight with personalized plans from Noom, like Evan, who can't stand salads and still lost 50 pounds. Salads generally for most people are the easy button, right? For me, that wasn't an option. I never really was a salad guy. That's just not who I am. But Noom worked for me.

Get your personalized plan today at Noom.com. Real Noom user compensated to provide their story. In four weeks, the typical Noom user can expect to lose one to two pounds per week. Individual results may vary. This summer, Instacart presents famous summer flavors coming to your front door or pool or hotel. Your grocery delivery has arrived, sir. That was faster than room service. No violins in the lobby? Seriously?

Anyway, sit back, relax, and get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. Starring your favorite snacks, drinks, and more. Download Instacart for free delivery on your first three orders. Rated H for hungry audiences. Offer valid for a limited time. Minimum $10 per order. Excludes restaurants. Additional terms and fees apply. Welcome to the Serial Killer Podcast. The podcast dedicated to serial killers. Who they were, what they did, and how. I am your Norwegian host, Thomas Weiborg-Thun.

And tonight, we are back in the United States for an expose of a somewhat lesser known serial killer. This is part one of a two-part close look at the most prolific serial killer in Connecticut. Great things are happening to the Serial Killer Podcast. Thanks to my sponsors, and of course you, dear listener, I bring to you a fresh new episode every

Every single week. As an added bonus, the lovely introduction music you just listened to is available. Go to theserialkillerpodcast.com to download this exclusive ringtone now, and you won't regret it. Also, do not miss out on exciting news, such as the Kickstarter project we got going with the premium mug that changes color as it heats up.

So, sign up at theserialkillerpodcast.com slash tellme. Naturally, being the modern podcast host that I am, I have a Facebook fan page for my dear listeners. Go to facebook.com slash theskpodcast for Facebook live events and frequent interaction with me, your humble host. Your support means a lot to me.

and I hope to continue to bring you high-quality content for a long time to come. If you would like to donate, please go to theserialkillerpodcast.com slash donate, or simply go to patreon.com slash theserialkillerpodcast directly.

If you're unable to contribute, then you can still help out by telling your friends about your favorite podcast and helping us grow through word of mouth. The larger my fanbase gets, the more stable this program becomes and the more resources we'll be able to devote to it in the future. Imagine, if you will, dear listener, the early noughties.

Your humble host was 22 years old back in 2003, and the horror of 9-11 was still fairly fresh on everyone's mind. 50 Cent, with his hit In The Club, was topping the Billboard Top 40 lists, along with other artists such as Three Doors Down and Matchbox 20.

We find ourselves in the southernmost parts of New England in the United States of America. The following is a prologue from a very fascinating book called His Garden by Anne K. Howard. In just nine months, from February to October 2003, seven individuals in and around New Britain, Connecticut, went missing.

All of their bodies were subsequently found, in close proximity to one another, in a wooded lot behind a suburban strip mall. The mall could not have appeared more ordinary in location or style, and yet, for many years, as patrons ate at Subway, paid to have their car mufflers fixed, or their hair cut, purchased their beer, or poked around Daddy's Junkie Music Store,

The bodies of the killer's victims lay rotting on the swampy earth located just a few hundred yards away. Howard has written an excellent book about a rather unknown serial killer who murdered seven people between 2003 and 2004. This might not be as high a kill count as more ravenous serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Pedro Lopez,

But this does not diminish his depravity. His name is William Devon Howell, and this episode will be an expose into his life and crimes. I have with me tonight none other than the author of this very fascinating book, Anne K. Howard herself. During this interview, you, dear listener, will hear authentic recordings from her talks with the killer,

and be told his story by the one person who probably knows it best in the whole world, except for the killer himself. This interview will be divided into two parts. One will be released on July 16th, and the second on the 23rd of July. So, make sure you stay tuned to get a complete tale told in full.

Welcome so much to the Serial Killer podcast, Ms. Howard. It's an honor to interview such an expert of Connecticut's most prolific serial killer. Thank you for having me, Thomas. Before we delve into the fleshy details, can you please tell me and my dear listeners about yourself, as in who you are, where you are from, and your background? Well, I am a practicing attorney in Connecticut.

I live in the woods of Connecticut. It's a very upscale state in the United States of America. As I speak to you now, I am in a beautiful colonial house with my dog sleeping beside me.

I grew up in New England, in Massachusetts, and have lived in many other places. I attended college at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, in Canada, lived briefly in Vancouver, raised my two beautiful kids in Ohio for 20 years with my husband, and I have come full circle now, and I reside in Connecticut.

where I have decided to write about Connecticut's most prolific serial killer. Right. So you are a lawyer and a practicing one, and you continue to be one after writing this book as well?

I do hope to retire early in 2019 to devote myself entirely to writing true crime. This book project has gotten so much attention that frankly I am too busy to juggle two jobs. One, my day job as a disability lawyer where I help people to win their disability benefits.

The other, as a true crime author, I have a serial murders in Connecticut blog site in which I write not only about this case, but many other solved and unsolved murders in the state of Connecticut.

So I am currently writing a new book about an entirely different murder case. And frankly, Thomas, something has to give. So I've decided to stop taking new cases and gradually retire in the year ahead. That is quite exciting. My congratulations on pursuing such an interesting topic. You mentioned that you are married. And what does your husband think of your marriage?

Very extensive correspondence with a known serial killer.

My husband, and I think this may be why we've been happily married for 30 years, is supportive of anything that makes his wife happy. And I think most successful husbands learn that early on. He knows that I am a voracious true crime reader and that I love to write and that this is my passion in life. And he wants to see me succeed at it.

Interestingly, sometimes my husband drives me down on Sunday mornings to the prison in Cheshire, Connecticut, to visit the serial killer. And he is certainly aware that this serial killer and I talk on almost a weekly basis. And he will sometimes be hovering in the background listening to our chit-chat.

Now, that's not to say at times he doesn't get a little irritated by the darkness of the world in which my mind lives. But I think he's very supportive and happy about it. As the saying goes, happy wife, happy life. Yes.

Right. What was it that piqued your interest into the New Britain slayings? Was it the newspaper articles or did you have a general interest in serial murder cases already? I was writing in my Serial Murders in Connecticut blog about some unsolved serial murders not far from where I lived along Route 8 in Connecticut.

And between the late 1980s and 2004, there were many women whose bodies were found cast into the woods alongside this busy highway.

And so every time I was researching to write about those unsolved serial murders, I would come across online reference to these other serial murders that took place in New Britain, Connecticut. The interesting thing was at the time I was researching for my serial murders blog in early 2015,

Only three bodies had been found behind a strip mall in New Britain. And so I became fascinated by the fact that there was this man or perhaps a woman, but most likely a man.

who was trolling the streets of New Britain. I pictured him as some kind of a Jack the Ripper, a lecherous character who was out there snatching up the bodies of these drug-addicted, heroin-addicted prostitutes and placing them behind this busy strip mall. The audacity of this man's crimes

intrigued me greatly. Because if you were to go out to the area where he disposed of all of his victims, you would find that it is a very busy commercial district of that suburb. And so the very nature of those crimes intrigued me. In 2015,

The Attorney General for the state of Connecticut had a news conference and in May of 2015, he told the world that they had a main suspect in the New Britain murders. Now,

By then, in April of 2015, they had just discovered four more bodies behind that strip mall. So that brought the total of bodies up to seven individuals. Again, my interest was heightened even further because it told me that this man

was not just a serial killer, but he would take the title of Connecticut's most prolific serial killer with the number of bodies. And I looked at the mugshot on TV of this man who had been named as the main person of interest.

And as I said previously, I thought of this dark Jack the Ripper type of character. And what I saw in this mugshot was a total disconnect from what I had imagined this perpetrator to be. He appeared lonely, depressed. He also seemed to have a simmering kind of rage buried in his eyes.

And so it was all those things together that led me to decide to write a book about this intriguing character. And so I first wrote to him just two months after that news conference in July 2015, explicitly telling him that I would like to correspond with him, but that I also planned to write a book about him. Excellent. Thank you for that.

Now, before we begin delving into the details about the killer himself, Mr. Howell, I would very much like to devote some time to his victims. Too often cases like this revolve almost solely around the killer, and very little is reported about the victims. So, please tell me about who the seven victims of Mr. Howell was, and please,

Take your time. You know, there is no definition of a typical serial killer. And likewise, there is no definition of a typical prostitute. Prostitutes, in this case, drug addicted prostitutes, come from all walks of life. Of Howell's seven victims, six of them were females.

And all of those women, unfortunately, had heroin addictions. And it was that desperation of these women to get their next fix that led all of them to working the streets of various cities in Connecticut.

I truly believe that none of these women that were selling their bodies on the streets would ever have placed themselves into that high risk and dangerous profession were it not for their heroin addictions. One of the victims was a man. He was actually a transgender man. Danny Wisnett was his name.

And of the seven victims, Danny Wisnett was the only one who did not use drugs. Now, unlike the six female victims, Danny Wisnett was not raped in the commission of Howell's crimes. It's a very unusual story, but Danny Wisnett was selling his body outside of the house

a restaurant bar dancing establishment in Southington, Connecticut. It's called the Cadillac Ranch. William Devon Howell went to the Cadillac Ranch. And when he couldn't pick up a girl at the bar and the bar closed for the night at 1 a.m.,

William Devon Howe got into his van, which he refers to as the gasoline murder mobile, and he picked up Danny Wisnett thinking that this man was a woman. Danny Wisnett had long, silky black hair and a little mini skirt and high-heeled pumps. And so when they engaged in a sexual transaction,

It was at that point that William Gavin Howell accidentally removed the wig that Wisnett was wearing. He discovered that Daniel Wisnett was in fact a man, and he became enraged. He felt like he'd been duped. I think it was a challenge to his manhood.

And he punched out Danny Wisnett a few times and promptly strangled him on the spot. In contrast, sadly, all of Howell's female victims were raped repeatedly over the course of a 12-hour period. His first victim was a beautiful young woman named Melanie Camelini.

Now, Melanie was in her 20s, and in my book, His Garden, Conversations with a Serial Killer, I state that in some of the police interviews that I read in researching for this book, Melanie is described as a lookalike for Catherine Zeta-Jones, the famous actress, or Natalie Wolfe.

and certainly seeing pictures of Melanie Camolini. I would agree with that. She was a very beautiful young woman with two young children. I interviewed Melanie Camolini's sister. They were only about a year and a half apart.

And her sister describes a very vivacious, strong-willed young Melanie growing up. They attended private schools in Connecticut. This was a woman of means. She came from a very good family that had some money. And ironically, Melanie's parents put her in a private Christian school.

to protect her from, you know, the riffraff on the streets and things that kids in inner city public schools might have to deal with.

But alas, that effort was in vain because Melanie somehow always managed to find the wrong people at the wrong times. And it was walking home from her private schools that she somehow hooked up with the bad crowd and eventually was exposed to drugs. The second victim of William Devon Howell

was a woman named Marilyn Gonzalez. I don't know too much about Marilyn, other than the fact that she was a resident of Waterbury, Connecticut, where William Howell picked up several of his victims. And she, too, was a heroin-addicted prostitute and the mother of children. The third victim I just referenced was Danny Wisnett. The fourth victim...

There's a woman who I write the most about this victim in my book because at the time that I wrote the book, William Devon Howe was actually serving a 15-year sentence for the murder of this woman.

And so I therefore had a lot of resources to draw from. I had the trial transcripts and the affidavits and everything to try to get a fuller and more detailed picture of Howell's fourth victim named Nilsa Erezmendi. Nilsa Erezmendi

was Puerto Rican in her origin. However, she was born in Long Island, New York. And again, Nilsa came from a very good and loving home. Her mother and her stepfather raised her along with her siblings. She was very well loved by her entire family and had a strong network of friends.

She had a very young pregnancy. I believe she was in maybe her second year of high school, but it resulted in her having to drop out of high school. And she thereafter had a few more children, all before the age of 18. She loved her children dearly. I interviewed two of her daughters,

who speak with the highest regard of their mother, Nilsa Erezmendi. But tragically, as with the other victims, at some point, Nilsa got involved with the heroin, and that led her to working the streets and falling prey to a serial killer. The fifth victim

is a woman named Mary Jane Menard. And I have interviewed and met with Mary Jane Menard's daughter. She is a very lovely woman. She is now the same age that her mother was when her mother fell prey to William Devon Howe. She looks so much like her mother that it was almost strange for me to sit and talk to her.

Mary Jane Menard has a story that I believe so perfectly captures the tragedy of the heroin epidemic and the opioid crisis that we are facing now worldwide. It is an epidemic that has left many lives devastated. Now, in Mary Jane Menard's case,

She was a single mother raising her two young children. She had previously struggled with alcoholism and was a devoted and active member of Alcoholics Anonymous. She remained sober for 10 years while she raised her young children and worked two jobs,

Simultaneously, she did a degree at a local college at night in substance abuse counseling to become a caseworker who would assist people with addictions to get out of their addictions. And what happened with Mary Jane Menard

is so typical of what happens with so many people, certainly many of the disability clients that I have represented over the years. Mary Jane had back surgery in her 30s and it left her in a state of chronic pain. And so her doctors would prescribe the oxycodone, the Percocet, the Vicodin,

And when they tried to taper Mary Jane off of those prescription opioids and then entirely cut her off, Mary Jane was desperate to relieve her pain. And so she began to experiment with heroin. As with many people, they start to snort the powder. It seems harmless to do that.

to many compared to injecting it into their veins. But before you knew it, Mary Jane had a full-blown heroin addiction that led her to working the streets. And that was her story. The sixth victim was Diane Cusa. I don't know much about her other than to say that she was a resident of New Britain, working the streets with a long-term addiction.

heroin addiction. And then finally, the last victim is another startlingly beautiful young woman named Jovlin Martinez.

And if you go online and you look up a picture of this young woman, Javelin Martinez, I think you would also agree that this girl could have been in movies. I mean, she was only, I believe, in her early 20s when Howell took her life.

And again, she just looks like she could have been an R&B singer. She's just a beautiful woman. And when I asked William Devon Howell, how could you feel the life of such a lovely creature? He just shrugged and didn't even seem to think twice about it. So that's the story of the seven victims. Each one is unique. Each one is different. And all of the families mourn them to this day.

Thank you so much for that information. That was thorough and respectful. Now, please tell me about the legend of the Winstead Wildman. The Winstead Wildman. I live in a town. I actually live in a town next to Winstead. And back in the 1800s in Winstead, Connecticut,

There was a Bigfoot on the loose. Many people said that they were having sightings of a naked, crazy, furry kind of beast that they were spotting in the woods of Connecticut. And people were terrified that if they walked through the woods, they might come across the Winstead Wildman.

Now, I think a more plausible explanation was that at the time of the sightings, there was a mental patient from a local mental asylum who had escaped. His name was Arthur Beckwith and previously Mr. Beckwith.

had escaped and been found in the tropics of Cuba wandering about without clothing. Sans vêtements, I write in my book. And so it wouldn't be unusual, I think, for Arthur to have escaped from that institution and be wandering the woods of Winstead, Connecticut. Who knows? Maybe he's out there till this day. Maybe our friend Arthur is immortal.

But certainly when I read about the legend of the Winstead Wild Man, I wondered if that was what I was looking for in trying to figure out the serial killer William Devon Howell. Thank you. And before we continue, I will now play an audio recording of William Devon Howell confessing to Anne K. Howard about his crimes.

This summer, Instacart presents famous summer flavors coming to your front door. Or pool. Or hotel. Your grocery delivery has arrived, sir. That was faster than room service. No violins in the lobby? Seriously? Anyway, sit back, relax, and get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. Starring your favorite snacks, drinks, and more. Download Instacart for free delivery on your first three orders. Rated H for hungry audiences. Offer valid for a limited time. Minimum $10 per order. Excludes restaurants. Additional terms and fees apply.

Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. At Mint Mobile, we like to do the opposite of what Big Wireless does. They charge you a lot, we charge you a little. So naturally, when they announced they'd be raising their prices due to inflation, we decided to deflate our prices due to not hating you.

That's right. We're cutting the price of Mint Unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes. See details. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. As a family man with three kids, I know firsthand how extremely difficult it is to make time for self-care.

But it's good to have some things that are non-negotiable. For some, that could be a night out with the boys, chugging beers and having a laugh. For others, it might be an eating night. For me, one non-negotiable activity is researching psychopathic serial killers and making this podcast. Even when we know what makes us happy, it's often near impossible to make time for it.

But when you feel like you have no time for yourself, non-negotiables like therapy are more important than ever. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Everyone needs someone to talk to, even psychopaths, even your humble host.

Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash serialkiller today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash serialkiller.

All right. Forgive me if I'm nervous or I stutter a little bit. I understand. Don't worry about it. Take your time, too. Don't rush through it. Just take your time. All right. My name is William Howe. This is a recorded call with Ann Kay Howard on October 19, 2017. Ann Howard has my permission to release the contents of this call in whole or in part to any media outlets she chooses.

I've been labeled by various media outlets as the New Britain serial killer and or Connecticut's most prolific serial killer. This is not a title I'm proud to have. I want to first apologize to my victims' families for the grief and pain I have caused them.

I hear the pain and their sobs at every court appearance, and I'm truly sorry that I am the cause of that pain. I'm pleaded guilty to spare the victims' families for other pain and torment that would have been brought about by a lengthy trial.

My guilty plea also saves the taxpayers of the state nearly a million dollars in anticipated trial costs. I pleaded guilty because I felt I had, had I moved forward with trial, I'd have been found guilty anyway, so why put the families and taxpayers through it?

A lot of the evidence, in particular witnesses and witness testimonies, are incorrect, false, or outright lies. My case contains an ounce of truth bolstered by a pound of lies. But at the end of the day, I feel that the ounce of truth alone would have been enough to convict me. That's it. But with all that... Okay. That sounds like the statement you're going to make is sentencing, too.

Well, I'll probably use part of it. But with all that said, I am guilty of the crimes I pleaded to. I did knowingly and willfully cause the death of Melanie Camillini. I did knowingly and willingly cause the death of Marilyn Gonzalez. I did knowingly and willfully cause the death of Daniel Westand.

I did knowingly and willfully cause the death of Maris Mendi. I did knowingly and willingly cause the death of Mary Jane Menard. And I did knowingly and willingly cause the death of Diane Cusack and Joy Valen Martinez. I raped all of the victims with the exception of Daniel Wistand.

I raped them to satisfy my own sexual fantasies and to punish them for being prostitutes. I killed them to conceal my crimes. I cannot say why I committed these crimes. I don't know the answer to that myself. I can only say that they died for my own selfish reasons.

My actions were both monstrous and cowardice and in no way a reflection on my family, how I lived my daily life or my character. I was raised by a good family and a good home and was never abused in any way. I was not fascinated or consumed by thoughts of killing and I never got joy out of killing or torturing animals

or anything like that, as I have heard many serial killers have done. Instead, I thought of myself as a good person and would help anyone I could.

But for some reason I grew to have a disdain for prostitutes. I condoned my actions within myself by telling myself that they chose to put themselves in harm's way, thereby minimizing my culpability. But I knew that what I was doing was wrong, and I knew that at the time Connecticut had the death penalty. And I knew that if I were to be caught, that that was the sentence I expected to receive.

I am a proponent of the death penalty, and I feel that that is the appropriate sentence for the crimes I committed. I apologize to the families that the legislators of the state have removed that law, thereby denying the families the ultimate justice I feel they deserve. The death penalty was deemed cruel and unusual punishment.

I would argue that locking someone in a little room, robbing them of their hopes, dreams, and freedom, knowing that they'll be in this little room until the day they die, is far more cruel than carrying out a death sentence. I hope that with the conclusion of my case, families can begin their healing process. I truly am sorry for the pain I have caused them, and if I could take it all back, I certainly would.

I do not ask the family's forgiveness, nor do I feel I deserve it. I only hope the families can find comfort in knowing that I will be miserable in my own skin every day for the rest of my life. I'm truly sorry for the pain I've caused. And that's the statement. That's good. That's good. I must say, after listening to the recordings you sent me, and after reading your book, William Devin Howell,

comes off as a very honest man in regards to his crimes. A lot of times, serial killers love to taunt their interviewers and to bask in the attention. I didn't really get that impression from Mr. Howell. I got more of a longing for companionship and regret impression. What is your general impression of Mr. Howell as a person and not as a murderer?

I think that you are 100% correct in your assessment of Mr. Howell as being a very straightforward human being who does not play games in terms of making me chase after him and being deceptive and only telling me little bits and pieces and twisting the facts.

From the start of our relationship, there was what I would call a quid pro quo. There was a transactional element to our relationships whereby Powell being appreciative of the friendship and the written correspondence that I was giving him,

and the attention that I was giving him in a social capacity consistently promised me that at the end of this venture, when legal resolution finally took place in his case, whether that be through a possible guilty plea agreement or a full-fledged trial,

Once the verdict was in, Powell promised that he would do the right thing and tell me everything that I needed to know for the purposes of my writing it in this book. He has also demonstrated to me that he does not want celebrity status.

And that is in fact a misconception that I received from several people over the years, that they think he wants to embellish his crimes, to get attention from the media. I do not believe that that is so. He has refused to talk to any media people except me.

There was one exception where I arranged for a phone interview with a member of the media for him. But the only reason he told that interviewer that he was doing it was because he had made a promise to me that he would do that interview. I actually had to beg him to do that interview.

He only wants to talk to me. And even his defense attorneys, who I was in close contact with over the course of the last three years. In fact, we still stay in contact. I think we kind of like each other. We're all friends. We're all colleagues. But his defense attorneys came to me after Howell pled guilty in September of 2017.

And they said to me, when he does tell you everything in the months to come, will you please let us know? Because we would like to know as well. He hadn't even spoken one word about his crimes to his defense attorneys. So, no, I think he shies away from the spotlight. And as I state in my book,

He is a man of his word. He gave me his word that he would tell me everything, and he carried through on that in the end. Okay. And you mentioned the media. What nicknames did the press give Mr. Howell? Well, uh...

The nicknames given by the press to Mr. Howell are actually names that other prisoners have given Howell. And somehow these names came out of the woodwork. The one man that Howell did confess some of his crimes to back in 2014 said that William Devon Howell had called himself a sick ricker.

So you'd often see in media headlines Howell referred to as the sick ripper. He was also called hillbilly in prison because Howell grew up in Hampton, Virginia.

And he has a southern drawl. It's not that pronounced, but he does have a southern drawl. And in Connecticut here in New England, we have a distinctly different accent than southerners in America. And so he was known as Hillbilly.

Another name given to him by prisoners that got leaked out to the press was Wild Bill. They knew that he was accused of doing these things. And so that was another name. Interestingly, Howell grew up with the name Devin Howell. And so when I spoke with people from Virginia that knew Howell growing up, they referred to him as Devin.

Even when he first came to Connecticut in 2001, everyone knew him as Devin. As time went on, however, once he was charged with these heinous crimes, I think he wanted to distance himself from his earlier identity. And so he took his official first name of William. And now the man I've come to know and write about is Bill Howell.

I see. It's quite interesting that you mention he's calling himself Bill and the media calling him Wild Bill, because, of course, my thoughts then quickly go to the film The Silence of the Lambs, where the serial killer suspect is called Wild Bill or Buffalo Bill, I think his name was. Do you remember that?

I do remember that. And perhaps that's a coincidence, or maybe the other prisoners caught on to that and associated him in that way. And what does he look like? Because this is a podcast, not a video program. So, to the best of your ability, if you could describe his physical appearance? Let me start with his childhood appearance.

In early childhood, I have photos of him and several are included in the book where he is a beautiful child. He looks a lot like my son actually did at that age. Blond haired and blue eyed and smiling, happy. Over the years, in his late teen years, in his 20s, the pictures I have of him from that era

Remind me of pictures of blue-collar workers, landscapers that I might have come to my house and do my lawn care.

He had kind of a little bit of a scruffy beard sometimes, longer brown hair with a back in the 80s and 90s. You may remember when people had those terrible mullets, remember? And so William Devon Howell at that time had one of those scraggly mullets.

and his eyebrows were bright white from working in the sun, doing lawn care work. Now, Powell is a transformed man physically. In recent years, since being charged with these crimes, he's put on over 65 pounds. When I visit him for our face-to-face prison visits,

He is a very large and rotund man. He has a very healthy appetite for junk food that he buys in the prison commissary. He is, for the most part, well, I would say a receding hairline, not entirely bald, hair cut short with the prison crew cut, but a very large, round face.

Hazel eyes and his eyes, I write in the book, have a very peculiar shape to them. I describe them as being upside down half moons. And so when I talk to him at times, I get distracted by those eyes of his.

Now, in the mug shots that people might see online if they listen to this podcast and get curious enough to want to see the actual visuals of William Devon Howell, you are going to see a very sad and almost dangerous looking type of face when you look at those mug shots.

When I go for our prison visits, that is not the same face that I am looking at. I am looking at a man who is smiling with eyes that are sparkling and happy to see me. I'm looking at a very friendly man.

And when he smiles, he's got the kind of yellowy, crooked teeth. A couple of his teeth are missing from some fights that he got into years ago. But nonetheless, the man that you will see in the mugshot is certainly not the man that I see in prison. Thank you. Okay, you mentioned him as a child. So I think that's a good place to go now, winding back a bit.

Where was Mr. Howell born, and can you describe his childhood upbringing? Howell was born in Hampton, Virginia, on February 11th of 1970. He was the last of four children. His mother, Melissa Howell,

was 40 years old at the time of Howell's birth, which back then in the 70s was kind of an unusual thing. Women have children much later these days, but back in 1970, that was what we know as a geriatric pregnancy. Needless to say, it was unplanned. Howell had three older brothers.

One brother was relatively close to him in age, but the two other brothers were born when his mother was in her 20s. And so those brothers were full-grown men by the time Howell was born. They were almost like uncles to him. One of his brothers, in fact, at the time he was born, was serving in Vietnam. Howell's parents had a traditional marriage. They stayed married until death.

His father, John Howell, was 45 years old at the time that his last son was born. John Howell worked hard as a machinist. He went to work at, you know, first thing in the morning and came home predictably at 530 every day.

His mother worked several side jobs, not because she had to, but just to get some extra money to buy gifts for the children at Christmastime and for birthdays. She worked a few evenings out of the week at a burger stand, and during the day, she worked part-time at the elementary school cafeteria, partly to be close to her youngest son, William Devon Howell.

She was actively involved in his school activities. And by all accounts, Howell was loved by his parents. On the other hand, Howell has told me that his parents were not demonstrative in any way. They never showed him any physical affection.

He was not hugged. He was not kissed. He never recalled sitting on his parents' lap as a very young boy. So there was not a lot of affection in the Howell household. And he was also spanked quite a lot by his mother. And some people might see that level of corporal punishment as something

leading to his ultimate demise as a serial killer. I question that. I think perhaps he may have been spanked too much by his mother. But on the other hand, he acknowledges that he believes that he did not get one spanking as a child that he did not deserve.

And so he holds no grudges towards either of his parents for any spankings that he received. When Howell was 12 years old, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and she underwent a double mastectomy, radiation, chemo.

Now, back in the early 80s, that was quite an ordeal. I think that kind of treatment has greatly improved these days. But back then, Howell remembers a very sick mother suffering the residuals of this radiation and chemotherapy. Just when his mother, Melissa, was on the mend and getting better, a few years later and able to return to work,

She was hit with a massive stroke. And so she lived the remainder of her years until Howell was 15 years of age, bedridden in the front living room of their home, looking out the window and extremely depressed, even suicidal. And I think that that was a trauma for William Devon Howell

that greatly affected his future. It was at the age of 14, at the height of his mother's medical drama, that he first solicited a prostitute in the red light district of the neighboring town of Newport News. And

Quickly thereafter, he developed a sexual addiction to soliciting prostitutes at every chance that he could get. And so that is Howell's childhood. It's a strange mixture of quaint Virginia life. He describes fishing and riding his dirt bikes and having a lot of friends.

But then there's also this other very dark side to his childhood and adolescence. How was his relation to his childhood peers in school and such? Was he bullied in any way? I have received mixed reactions to what Howell's childhood and adolescence was like in terms of whether or not he was bullied.

A couple of women have told me that he was bullied by some of his peers. Others have told me that he was a very friendly guy that many people liked. He certainly was not the popular kid in school. And starting at the age of 12, he began to drink alcohol. Now, by the age of 14 or 15, he was drinking alcohol every day.

And sometimes he would even drink before he went to school. He tells me one story where a teacher took him aside and gave him a breath mint and said, your breath smells like alcohol. Take this. Interestingly, that teacher did not seek to help him beyond that.

So he had a drinking problem starting at a very early age, which ultimately led to him losing his license shortly after he got his first driver's license. So by the age of 17, he had a drunk driving accident.

where he very easily could have been killed. He survived that accident, but never was able to have a driver's license again, which led to many future incarcerations.

I think for the most part in reference to friends, I do think that Howell had a tight group of friends growing up and that he deeply valued those friends. He still talks to me about those friends to this day and misses them. He is a very sociable man who relies heavily on friends in his life.

The fact that he does not have any friends right now, except for me, despite his heinous deeds, I do consider him something of a friend. I think that is what makes him rely on me so much because he is a man who desperately needs friends in his life.

I see. And you mention his older siblings. How was his relationship with them and how is it now? Well, one of his three older brothers is deceased. The other two presently want nothing to do with him. They are deeply ashamed of what he has done.

And one in particular has made it known to the media that Howell's crimes are in no way related to their family and to the upbringing that Howell received from his parents. This older brother has stated that, if anything, he thinks Howell didn't get enough discipline from the parents as a teenager.

that the parents were old and tired and they just let William Devon Howell run loose. And that's how Howell got into so much trouble. Growing up, however, the brothers were all close. The one that is just a few years away from Howell in age, he would play with that brother. There appeared to be no problems with that relationship.

The two eldest brothers, who again were almost like uncles in terms of by the time Howell was born, one of them was married and had a child of his own. So the two older brothers would come to the house to visit when Howell was a little boy, and they would play card games with the parents. And that man's son, who was actually Howell's nephew,

would play with Howell because the two little boys were actually peers. So if we're searching for things in Howell's family background or childhood that contribute to him being a serial killer, I think we're going to be hard pressed to satisfy that agenda. It just simply doesn't seem to exist.

That might very well be so, because sometimes there isn't anything to find in the childhood. There are several examples of this. So there are other things that can affect it. And you mention in your book, and I am so pleased that you did, the important debate regarding nature versus nurture and how this affects the creation of serial killers.

Some serial killers and mass murderers are found after death to have brain injuries, causing abnormal behavior. Was this the case with Mr. Howell? This could have been the case with William Devon Howell. He was in prison in Virginia in his early 20s. At that time, he was out with the other prison inmates playing a game of softball in the prison yard.

And he was whacked on the head with a softball. The reason I know about this is because when we visit, I look at a large scar that is above his left eye. And one time I asked him, how did you get that large scar?

And he describes going to catch a pop-up and the sun glaring down, blinding him. And consequently, the ball whacked him just above his temple. In the months that followed, he developed a kind of large infected cyst in that location of that injury. He describes picking at it, trying to get rid of it.

And eventually he picked at it and it began to hemorrhage. He went to the prison doctor who tried to lance this injury. And in so doing, I think there was some kind of a brain hematuria or a, I'm not a doctor, but the bleeding was profuse and the doctor was concerned enough to rush him to the hospital

and the problem of taking care of at that time. So he did have a head injury. And what does interest me is that at the time he describes beginning to fantasize about raping prostitutes, it is at exactly that same time in his early 20s in which he incurred that injury.

On the other hand, I think that a more possible explanation for Howell's crimes also has to do with the wiring of his brain. And I think it relates to his, what I believe to be his diagnosis of paraphilia.

which as many of your listeners know, is a type of sexual sadism.

sexual perversions. Paraphilias are all very unique and different. One man might have a paraphilia with respect to his victims wearing high-heeled shoes. Other men like Howell may have a paraphilia with respect to raping prostitutes. Now, whether that paraphilia in Howell's brain was there at birth

or possibly whether it was something that was a chemical issue that over time, outside circumstances, contributed to the development of this paraphilia. I don't think we'll ever know. That's for the scientists to figure out. But he most certainly has a sexual perversion, and I do believe it's neurologically based.

And I believe that there were many outside influences that created a perfect storm in Howell's brain where he had this faulty wiring. And then he had instances in his life of tremendous powerlessness that resulted in a deep rage inside of William Devon Howell.

One area of powerlessness in his life was the chronic incarceration throughout his 20s simply for driving without a license. I think that made him very angry.

Another thing I think that made him extremely angry was that the mother of his two young children took those babies away from him, moved to another state and married another man. And Howell was not allowed to see those two young children who he loved deeply because he knew that if he left the state and went to visit those children with all of the

probation violations and the driving without a license that he had on his record, that he would be immediately locked up, that the mother of his children would notify authorities. And so I think he had many feelings of fury in his life that all contributed to this bad wiring going wrong.

That is very interesting and sounds very plausible. I think I agree with you. So let us move on into the actual crimes themselves. And so ends part one of this expose into the life and crimes of William Devon Howell. Please stay tuned for part two, coming to you the 23rd of July.

Need new glasses or want a fresh new style? Warby Parker has you covered. Glasses start at just $95, including anti-reflective, scratch-resistant prescription lenses that block 100% of UV rays.

every frames designed in-house with a huge selection of styles for every face shape and with warby parker's free home try on program you can order five pairs to try at home for free shipping is free both ways too go to warbyparker.com slash covered to try five pairs of frames at home for free warbyparker.com slash covered

At Ashley, you'll find colorful furniture that brings your home to life. Ashley makes it easier than ever to express your personal style with an array of looks in fun trending hues to choose from, from earth tones to vibrant colors to calming blues and greens. Ashley has pieces for every room in the house in the season's most sought after shades. A more colorful life starts at Ashley. Shop in store online today. Ashley, for the love of home.

I have been your host, Thomas Weibach Thun. Doing this podcast is a labor of love, and I couldn't have done it without my loyal listeners. This podcast has been able to bring serial killer stories to life, especially thanks to those of you that support me via Patreon. You can do so at theserialkillerpodcast.com slash donate.

There are especially a few patrons that have stayed loyal for a long time. Maud, Mickey, Sydney, Lexi, Christina, Philip, Jason, Lisbet, Sid and Meg, Sarah, Tommy, Charlotte, Craig, Megan, Thomas, Linda and Wendy.

Your monthly contributions really help keep this podcast thriving. You have my deepest gratitude. As always, thank you, dear listener, for listening. And feel free to leave a review on your favorite podcast app or website. And please do subscribe to the show if you enjoy it. Thank you. Good night and good luck.