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See website for details. 45 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:19.120 You are now listening to true Murder, the most shocking 46 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:22.240 killers in true crime history and the authors that have 47 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:29.599 written about them. Gasey, Bundy, Dahmer, The Nightstalker, DTK. Every 48 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:33.319 week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and 49 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.960 infamous killers in true crime history. True Murder with your host, 50 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.400 journalist and author Dan Zupanski. 51 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:54.560 Good eeting you want to know what happened? Ask ann 52 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:58.599 serial killer William Devin Howell. A monster was on a 53 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:02.520 killing spree. In just nine months, seven people went missing, 54 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:05.639 all of their bodies eventually discovered in a wooded lot 55 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:09.400 behind a suburban strip mall. But the investigation that led 56 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:13.800 law enforcement to their suspect, William Devon Howell, is only 57 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.000 part of the story behind his Garden Conversations with a 58 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.919 serial killer. A practicing attorney, author and k Howard first 59 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:25.439 contacted Howell while he was serving a fifteen year sentence 60 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:28.400 for the murder of one of his seven victims. He 61 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:30.879 was about to be charged for the remaining six murders. 62 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:34.879 A unique and disturbing friendship between the two began, comprised 63 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:39.400 of written correspondents, face to face, prisoned visits, and recorded 64 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:43.280 phone calls. Howell, who had been unwilling to speak to 65 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:46.479 any members of the media, came to trust Howard In 66 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:50.159 the years that follow the suspect shared his troubled history 67 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.000 with Howard, but refused to discuss the charges against him, 68 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:56.800 promising only to tell her everything when the case was over. 69 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:01.919 That time has come. His Garden probes the complicated and 70 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:07.439 conflicted mind of William Devon Howell, Connecticut's most prolific serial killer. 71 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:11.319 Both sacred and profane in its narrative style, the story 72 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:14.520 on these pages explores the eternal question of human evil 73 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:18.160 and it's an impact on others, including the woman he 74 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:22.360 chose to hear this horrific confession. The book they were 75 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.160 featuring this evening is His Garden. Conversations with a Serial 76 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:29.879 Killer with my special guest attorney and author and Kay Howard. 77 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.120 Welcome to the program, and thank you very much for 78 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:36.240 agreeing to this interview. And Kay Howard, thank you, Dan, 79 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.399 thanks for having me. Thank you so much. Very anxious 80 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:45.480 to discuss this book with you. Very very interesting. You 81 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:49.639 open this book in July twenty fifth, two thousand and three. 82 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:55.759 We already alluded to that you had contacted William Devin 83 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:59.040 Howell while he was in prison. Let's get to the 84 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.560 person that he was in prison for for murdering, and 85 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:08.839 as you do in the book, you introduce Nilsa Arismondy 86 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.800 and angel Ace Sanchez and have a mispronounced her name 87 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:15.600 and maybe could correct that for me. And you take 88 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:19.040 us to July fifth, two thousand and three, tell us 89 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:22.680 where they are and describe, as you do in the book, 90 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:26.439 the relationship that they have together and what they are 91 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.399 doing at that time that puts them in the crosshairs 92 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.800 of William Devin Howell. 93 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:36.519 Certainly well, Milsa Eira is Mendy. Unfortunately, as is the 94 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:42.560 case with six out of the seven victims of William Devin, Howell, 95 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:48.639 was addicted to heroin along with her boyfriend, her longtime 96 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.399 high school sweetheart, Ace Sanchez. And so at the start 97 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:58.920 of the book, the reader sees Nilsa Eras Mendy and 98 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:06.480 a Sanchez. They're walking along the Berlin Turnpike also known 99 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:12.879 as Gasoline Alley, and it was in Hartford and Weathersfield, Connecticut, 100 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:16.480 where they were walking along the highway. They had just 101 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:23.519 had a busy night of scoring drugs, and Nilsa, in 102 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:28.839 order to support their mutual drug habit, had been working 103 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:33.800 the streets as a prostitute, and so they were walking 104 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:39.959 back along the Berlin Turnpike in Connecticut, returning to their 105 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:44.319 hotel where they had rented a room and a cheap 106 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:49.680 motel along the highway. It was at that time that 107 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:54.160 they bumped into an acquaintance, William Devin Howell. They actually 108 00:06:54.240 --> 00:07:00.240 knew this killer. Unlike Howell's other victims, Nilsa Arismendi was 109 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:04.279 the only one that Howell actually knew, and so she 110 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:06.879 went over. I believe it was two or three in 111 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:09.920 the morning and during July of two thousand and three, 112 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:13.959 on a hot summer night, and she went over to 113 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:20.959 Howell's van, parked in a grocery store parking lot, just 114 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.600 to say hi. I think she also wanted to see 115 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:27.000 if he could drive her to a location to cop 116 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:32.079 some drugs, and she got into his van, which ultimately 117 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.360 led to her demise. 118 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.920 You talk about a Sanchez. He's not her pimp. He's 119 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.920 the longtime boyfriend. He knows the lifestyle. He's addicted. She's addicted. 120 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.920 He sees her get into the van, it's the last 121 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:54.079 time he sees her. What does he do the following day, Well. 122 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:58.240 He does return to the motel and wait for her 123 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:02.079 for a time, and then he both and and consults 124 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:06.040 with other people in the neighborhoods where they would frequent 125 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:08.600 to find out if they have. 126 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:09.959 Seen his girlfriend. 127 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.360 It's highly unusual for her not to return to the 128 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:19.240 motel within a matter of hours. Ace is naturally concerned. 129 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:24.920 He does eventually talk to family members and voice that 130 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:29.720 concern that his girlfriend has disappeared. He's worried that maybe 131 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:35.519 she overdose, and so he does communicate that she is 132 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:40.639 off the grid to family members and friends. Eventually, you know, 133 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:44.559 within a matter of weeks, Ace is locked up for 134 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:50.000 a drug possession and while in jail, he again communicates. 135 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:54.600 This time he gets a letter through the jail chaplain 136 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:59.320 to be sent to the Hartford Police Department stating that 137 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:04.440 he's very worried that his girlfriend is missing. And it 138 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:07.600 was about a month after Nielsa Aras Mendy went missing 139 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:12.559 that the Weathersfield Police Department got to work on the 140 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:19.120 case and started to aggressively look for Nilsa Eras Mendy. 141 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:23.720 Now you introduced William Devin Howell born in February nineteen 142 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:30.960 seventy and his mother's name Melissa and father John. Again, 143 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.320 this is unusual when you have to talk about a 144 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:40.039 serial killer and the very very normal his background. So 145 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:43.240 tell us about this seemingly normal background that he grew 146 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:43.639 up in. 147 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:47.720 Yes, it's true, you know in the book, I kind 148 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:51.240 of compare it to the Andy Griffiths show the way 149 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:57.120 that Bill Howell would describe to me his childhood in Hampton, Virginia, 150 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:01.279 where you know he had a modest upbringing. His father 151 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:05.360 was a machinist, a very strong work ethic in the family. 152 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:08.519 His father went to work bright and early at dawn 153 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.519 every day and predictably returned for dinner every night. His 154 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.480 mother held a couple of jobs on the side, part 155 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:21.360 time jobs to contribute to the family income. There were 156 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:27.200 always homemade meals on the table. He enjoyed fishing behind 157 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:31.440 in the ditch behind his house, riding his dirt bikes. 158 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.399 He had friends in the neighborhood. So by all accounts, 159 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:38.840 based on what Bill Howell has shared with me over 160 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:41.360 the course of our three and a half year author 161 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:47.440 subject relationship, it was a relatively normal childhood. He was 162 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:50.519 the last of four children, and there was a large 163 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.960 gap in age between Bill Howell and two of his 164 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:58.320 older brothers. In fact, one of his brothers was serving 165 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:02.840 in Vietnam when was born, and both of the older 166 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:07.679 brothers had families of their own they were grown adults, 167 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:10.120 so he was born to a mother who was forty 168 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:13.159 and the father was forty five at the time. You know, 169 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:16.840 I think it wasn't until the age of twelve, though, 170 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:24.000 that things went downhill for Bill Howell and he was traumatized, 171 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:29.360 I believe, by the illness of his mother. Melissa Howell 172 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:34.639 had very serious breast cancer diagnosed, and there were several 173 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.639 years from the ages of twelve to fifteen when Bill 174 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:42.559 Howell was observing his mother, who for most of that 175 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.919 time was bedridden, whether it was from the chemo and 176 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:53.200 radiation treatments or finally, in her final year, multiple strokes 177 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:57.080 that led to her death when Howell was fifteen years old. 178 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:02.360 So it was during that early puberty that I think 179 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:09.039 that that tragedy touched howells lives life, and not coincidentally, 180 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:12.600 at the age of twelve, that's when he started to 181 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:16.360 drink alcohol, and he said he would literally drink every 182 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:17.799 day starting at. 183 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:18.639 The age of twelve. 184 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:22.440 At the age of fourteen, at the height of his 185 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:27.960 mother's medical drama, he solicited his first prostitute in the 186 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.720 red light district of Newport News, Virginia, which again it's 187 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:39.440 very deviant behavior for someone of that age. 188 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:41.159 And thereafter he. 189 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:47.799 Became addicted to he had a sexual addiction to soliciting 190 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:53.600 prostitutes that only grew over time. Often people say to me, 191 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.200 ask me what he abused as a child, because we 192 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:02.039 think serial killers were allays abused, which in fact is 193 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:07.320 not true. Some are, some aren't. In house case, he 194 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:12.320 was spanked quite a lot by his parents, especially his mother, 195 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:16.159 who was a strict disciplinarian. But I don't think it 196 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:22.360 was anything out of the ordinary for someone in that 197 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:29.799 era growing up down South. And he does not believe 198 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:33.559 himself that he was abused. He thinks that the spankings 199 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:39.759 were always warranted, and he certainly places absolutely no blame 200 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:46.200 on his parents or his childhood for the ultimate heinous 201 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:47.679 crimes that he committed. 202 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:53.559 He also include that his father died when he was nineteen, 203 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:55.559 so five years later his father is out of his 204 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:56.240 life as well. 205 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:01.559 Yes, I think there really was a tremendous void of 206 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:08.320 loneliness and powerlessness in Howell at an early age that 207 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:13.360 only grew over time through the deaths of his parents, 208 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:19.519 you know, the mother of his children. He got a 209 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:24.200 girl pregnant in high school, a longtime girlfriend at a 210 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:28.200 very early age. I believe he was only sixteen, dropped 211 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:32.360 out of school. And so I think all of those 212 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:38.320 events did contribute to a sense of loneliness and powerlessness 213 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:42.759 in Howell's life. And certainly I see in my one 214 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.960 on one prison visits, when I visit him to this 215 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:50.919 day on a monthly basis, I still see that a 216 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:58.559 desperate need for human interaction, for social attention, for kindness 217 00:14:58.799 --> 00:14:59.799 and French. 218 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:08.639 Yes, you talked about the worth ethic that was instilled 219 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:11.480 by his parents, and they were you know, upstanding people, 220 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:16.919 it seemed. And and in regards to his was he 221 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:21.639 a drug user? And what was it with this work ethic? 222 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:25.039 Was he employable? Was he gainfully employed all the time? 223 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:29.600 And if so, what type of employment did he gravitate towards? 224 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:30.240 Mm hmm. 225 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.919 Well, you know you read in the book that he 226 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:38.720 did dapple in drugs. You know, he he most certainly 227 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:42.679 was not a drug addict. And he tells me he 228 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:48.039 never tried heroin, but he did, you know, try crack 229 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:50.960 cocaine on one or two occasions. He tells me he 230 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:52.000 did not like it. 231 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:53.759 You know, he. 232 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:58.559 Certainly loved to smoke marijuana. He states that the marijuana 233 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.879 actually had a calming effect on him, and that in contrast, 234 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:07.399 it was the alcohol that that caused problems and ignited 235 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.519 aggression within him and caused his aggression and anger to surface. 236 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.919 And alcohol, to some extent was involved in most of 237 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:21.039 his crimes. Certainly it was not a big contributing factor, 238 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:24.879 but it did have a way of bringing out his anger. 239 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:30.360 So you know, he was not a big drug user. 240 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:35.639 Aside from you know, smoking marijuana. But with reference to 241 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:40.799 his his work ethic, he like his parents, does have 242 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.200 a very strong work ethic. He takes great pride in 243 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.399 that he never took welfare. He he never was a 244 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:52.240 lazy person who who went on on employment and sought 245 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:56.639 an easy ride. But unfortunately, because he dropped out of 246 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.440 school in I believe it was the tenth grade in 247 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:03.240 high school, you know, he really had no skills to 248 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:08.920 speak of. While in school, he was in special education classes, 249 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:10.920 and he did have a learning disability. 250 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:12.319 Certainly in the. 251 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.920 Letters, and you know, I've got hundreds of pages of 252 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.079 letters that he's written to me over the course of 253 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:21.000 the last three years. His letters do reflect someone with 254 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:25.400 deficient writing skills. There are a lot of spelling errors. 255 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:33.039 That said, I believe that Howell's level of intelligence, not 256 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:36.319 that I have had access to any IQ testing. On 257 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:37.960 getting to know him, I. 258 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:39.880 Believe he has an average. 259 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:43.960 If not slightly above average IQ. He has very good 260 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:49.759 reasoning abilities, and so you know, talking to him, he's 261 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:54.240 very sharp, he's very alert. Certainly in the three years 262 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:59.079 that we conversed before he finally did confess to me 263 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:03.240 his crimes in September of twenty seventeen, he was always 264 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:08.920 very shrewd and very careful about not divulging any details 265 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:12.440 of what he did until he was ready and legal 266 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.440 resolution had taken place. So the only skills he really 267 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:20.519 had were landscaping and mowing lawns. 268 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.079 And at the time of. 269 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.759 His killing spree in two thousand and three, during that 270 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:30.000 nine month period, he was living out of his van. 271 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:35.359 It was this ghastly nineteen eighty five Ford Equano line 272 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:39.119 van that he had purchased from an ex girlfriend's parents 273 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:43.200 for four hundred dollars, and to save money, he slept 274 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:46.119 in that van at night and would shower at the 275 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:51.279 local YMCA. He worked during the day at the grocery 276 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:55.680 store and the Delhi department, and he also worked as 277 00:18:55.720 --> 00:19:00.000 a roofer, and so at the time of the king 278 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:04.119 spree he stopped doing those two minimum wage jobs and 279 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:07.559 decided just to pursue his own long care business. And 280 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:11.160 he had a busy long care schedule. 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No purchase necessary, boyd, We're prohibited by 308 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.000 Lock eighteen class terms and conditions the flag see website 309 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:27.759 for details. 310 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:34.079 Times because he had confided in me that if he 311 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:38.039 did not have a lawn care schedule the following day, 312 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.359 if there were no lawns tom, then he knew he 313 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:46.039 would be free to find a victim the night before 314 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:53.359 and engage in that twelve hour crime of holding that 315 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:58.640 victim captive in the back of his van, repeatedly engaging 316 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:05.799 in raping them and verbally berating them and ultimately strangling them. 317 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:10.079 So it was entirely dependent on his long care schedule. 318 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.960 You talk about the customers that he encountered with his 319 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.480 long care business, the people that he worked with, the 320 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.160 bosses that he worked with, the acquaintances, and the friends. 321 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:27.000 Based on his behavior, based on his disposition, this is 322 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.799 going to be important later when they find out about this, 323 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:33.400 But how is he regarded, How is he regarded in 324 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.319 terms of temperament, How is he regarded in terms of socially. 325 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:42.599 Well, you know, after so many people about that, people 326 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:45.160 came out of the woodwork while I was working on 327 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:48.839 this book. People that he knew in Virginia growing up, 328 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:52.279 people that he knew in Connecticut when he moved here 329 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:56.640 in two thousand and one. People he worked with, friends, 330 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:03.680 ex girlfriends in Connecticut, and they all consistently say that 331 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:06.839 Howell was a very friendly guy. 332 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:08.200 A nice guy. 333 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:11.240 Some say, you know, he's the guy that will give 334 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:13.359 you the shirt off his back. You know, there was 335 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.880 one story our reference, I think I mentioned it in 336 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:19.160 the book, where a woman had told me that she 337 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:23.960 lost her purse with her wallet in it, and Howell 338 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.839 showed up at her house the next day. They were acquaintances. 339 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:29.920 He had found the purse and he had returned it, 340 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:35.319 and all of the cash and credit cards were there untouched. 341 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:39.359 So they describe him as well as a very honest guy, 342 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:43.160 a guy that you could trust now, and he certainly 343 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.799 loved a good party. He was a very sociable guy, 344 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:48.559 which again flies in the face of a lot of 345 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:52.920 the myths that we have of these Hannibal Lecter type 346 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.279 of or Jeffrey Dahmer type of serial killers who have 347 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:01.440 no friends and our social recluse. That certainly was not 348 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:04.559 the case with Howell. He has told me that he 349 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:08.480 prefers to be in the company of other people and 350 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:10.920 he hates to be alone, which is one of the 351 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.680 reasons why now being alone in his cell and a 352 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:17.839 high max prison is just torture for him. Now, all 353 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:22.240 that said, there is also a dark side, obviously to 354 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:26.599 William Devin Howe, and there were times when friends and 355 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:33.240 acquaintances would see that dark side surface. With the mother 356 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:38.960 of his children, along with the ex the former girlfriend 357 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.960 who he was with at the time of the killing spree, 358 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:48.680 who is now deceased, there were allegations of some domestic violence, 359 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:53.240 you know, on the scale of one to ten, you know, 360 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:57.440 in terms of the level of violence involved, you know, 361 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:02.480 maybe a five or six. It was often with his 362 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:06.079 last girlfriend at the time of the commission of the crimes, 363 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:10.279 more of a mutual pushing and shoving and fighting. So 364 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:14.960 he did exhibit an anger in. 365 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:16.720 Some of his relationships. 366 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.160 But when I think about it, you know, being a 367 00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:24.920 practicing attorney, having you know, known many people who have 368 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:30.920 been involved in domestic violent situations. While the behavior was deviant, 369 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:35.759 it's certainly not out of the ordinary in terms of 370 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:39.440 the domestic violence that some of my clients may share 371 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:42.759 with me. And I don't think in any way it 372 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:47.920 could have indicated to an observer that this man was 373 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:49.839 going to wind up being a serial killer. 374 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:58.559 Right now, let's get back to Nilsa and her boyfriend Ace, 375 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:01.839 because the police got a As we know all true 376 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:05.880 crime listeners and readers know, the police have to concentrate 377 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:09.960 on the most likely usual typical suspects, and that being 378 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:13.920 A Sanchez. Yet the same thing is there. At the 379 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:17.400 same time, there is some evidence from him. He says 380 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:19.640 that he had thrown out a long care flyer from 381 00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:22.599 Howell from his long care business with his phone number 382 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:27.839 on it. And also that so tell us how it 383 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:31.160 becomes that the police get an inkling that he has 384 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:34.160 something to do with this. And also we haven't mentioned 385 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:37.960 this New Britain avenue where really a lot of this, 386 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:42.160 well most of this goes down originates. 387 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:47.799 Well, you know, A Sanchez was the last person to 388 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:53.240 see Nilsa Eirismendi alive. And he watched from a distance 389 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:57.359 as Nilsa walked in to Howell's van. You know, if 390 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:03.680 we did not have Ace Sanchez offering that witness testimony 391 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:08.960 to law enforcement after Nilsa Arasmendi's disappearance, I think it's 392 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:13.680 fair to say that William Devin Howe would possibly never 393 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:17.640 have been connected with any of these seven murders because 394 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:22.519 all of his other victims, he was very careful to 395 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:28.279 choose strangers, to choose women who he had never met before, 396 00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:33.240 who did not know his name. He removed the license 397 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:37.119 tag on his van at the time of the crimes. 398 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:45.839 So Sanchez and his observation was crucial in convicting Howell 399 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.960 of the murder of Nilsa Arismendi at the trial that 400 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:55.119 took place in January of two thousand and seven. Eight 401 00:26:55.599 --> 00:27:00.839