Suvechha Sarkar
On a quiet evening in November 2014, the community of Simsbury, Connecticut, was completely shaken to its core by an unthinkable tragedy. Melissa J. Millan, a beloved 54-year-old mother and successful insurance company executive, was brutally stabbed during her routine jog. The case went cold for four years before William Winters Leverett finally came forward and confessed to the crime. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Signs of a Psychopath: A Little Emotionally Unwound’ unravels the events that led to the murder and the killer’s horrific confession. It also features interviews with experts who shed light on not just the crime but also the sinister mind behind it.
William Leverett Lived Freely for Four Years Before Confessing to the Murder
William Winters Leverett was born on June 18, 1991. He had a troubled history and was convicted of sexual assault on a child in Colorado on May 23, 2011. He was released on August 22, 2011. However, William came to the forefront once again when he confessed to the murder of Melissa J. Millan to a friend from the church. The friend then brought him to the co-pastor, Michael Trazinski, and his wife, Colette, who urged him to go to the police. On September 19, 2018, William arrived at the station to confess to his crime in a case that had gone cold for four years without any viable leads or evidence. Upon questioning, he confessed that on the fateful night of November 20, 2014, he was returning from a Sex Offenders Therapy Group in Hartford when he felt the urge for “human contact.”
William drove to Iron Horse Boulevard near the Rotary Park playground when he spotted Melissa jogging. According to his confession, he wanted to strike up a friendship with her. However, he claimed his thoughts unraveled and made him think she was “out of my league.” He added that the fear of rejection sent him into a “frenzy.” William continued that he took a knife he had from under his driver’s seat and bumped into her on the trail. In a split-second decision, he stabbed her in the chest before she pushed him away. William reportedly added that he was wearing gloves and had the knife in his hand when it came out. He then fled the scene and discarded the murder weapon on the side of a street. He admitted that he had never met Melissa before.
William confessed that a few days later, he returned for the murder weapon and disposed of it in a trash compactor at his workplace. He even led the detectives to confessional letters that he had written to his family regarding the crime that he had committed. Furthermore, officials retrieved the gloves from the day of the murder. The DNA on them completely matched that of Melissa. However, William claimed that he had no intent of killing her and only wanted to scare her. He also revealed that he had washed his clothes on that fateful night and wiped his boots to get rid of evidence. Ultimately, William was arrested and charged with the murder of Melissa in September 2018.
William Leverett is Currently Serving His Time at a Connecticut Prison Facility
William was kept in custody with a $2 million bond. Although he initially faced trial after his September 2018 confession, he did not go before a jury. The prosecutors had presented a case, reportedly pointing out that he was a registered sex offender. They stated that he was driven by loneliness and rage and randomly attacked and stabbed Melissa, causing her to fall backward on the road. Apart from the confession letters and the glove, the prosecution also presented his detailed confession before the court. On the other hand, William’s defense claimed that he did not intend to hurt Melissa.
The defense further argued that the crime was not premeditated and happened in a spur-of-the-moment manner when everything went out of control. The prosecution reportedly offered William a plea deal that included 35 years in prison and an additional 10 years of special parole. However, he had rejected that deal in October 2020. As the trial moved forward, he accepted the deal and pleaded guilty to the single charge of murder on March 8, 2022. By pleading guilty, William was formally convicted of murder without the need for a trial. On May 3, 2022, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison, followed by seven years of special parole in Superior Court in Hartford.
After his sentencing, William apologized, stating, “I would like to say to all of you how truly sorry I am for the pain I have caused your family over the last several years. I can never forgive myself, but hopefully, this sentence brings you some amount of justice and closure. Again, I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused you all.” According to the inmate record, William’s maximum release date is not before September 23, 2053. As of writing, he is serving his sentence at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, located at East Street S, Suffield, Connecticut.
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