(Simsbury Police Department) SIMSBURY, CT William Leverett, a suspect in the 2014 homicide of 54-year-old Simsbury mother Melissa Millan, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of. The crime went unsolved until last week, when a registered sex offender, William Leverett, walked into a church, Open Gate Ministries in Windsor Locks, and confessed. He was employed at a pest control business in East Granby, Michael's Carpenter Ant and Termite Services, at the time of his death. William Leveretts attorneys entered a plea guilty bargain in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday for the murder of Melissa Millan. Neighbors at The Meadows apartment complex where the couple lived for approximately 18 months remember a quiet couple whom they often saw spending time with their son. The two public defenders who represented Downey at his trial before Judge Stuart Schimelman were at his side again Tuesday, a bit grayer, but no less committed to standing up for their client. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. The crime went unsolved until last week, when a registered sex offender, William Leverett, walked into a church, Open Gate Ministries in Windsor Locks, and confessed. Contributions can be made to the Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06111. "It's such a shame," she said. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 860-658-3145. William W. Leverett, 30, entered the . Simsbury double fatal shooting ruled a murder-suicide 00:00 00:00 An unknown error has occurred The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Linda Halligan's death a homicide from. Nearly four years ago, Melissa Millan, a mother of two, was brutally murdered in Connecticut while she was out on a jog. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery in Collinsville. A Connecticut State Police crime lab truck pulled up about 11:25 p.m. on the walkway between her apartment and the one in which the couple was found, she said. Leveretts confession to authorities came after he confided in a small group from his Windsor Locks church that he had slain the woman in 2014. "They were unable to make contact with any occupants, but they heard the sound of a crying baby inside.". A Confession Came Four Years Later. He is being held with bail set at $2 million. Yes, I do, your honor, Leverett responded. Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. In the wake of a tragic murder-suicide in Simsbury last week, family and friends are mourning the loss of a young couple whose lives ended abruptly. Visit us online at www.foothillsmediagroup.com, or on facebook.com/foothillsmediagroup. A Connecticut Woman Was Killed While Jogging. Nicholas Rondinone can be reached at nrondinone@courant.com. "I never met them, so I didn't know their names. Piri was arrested on Dec. 16 on a warrant, police said. Police are still investigating the incidents that led up to the fatal double shooting that night. Day leaves behind her parents Jimmy and Joanie (Anasoulis) Day, of Canton, her brother, Jim and her sister, Stephanie. 3. Trazinski said he and two other parishioners went with Leverett -- a church member since March 2015 -- to the Simsbury Police Department to turn himself in. Leverett rejected the deal during a court hearing. No next court date was scheduled Tuesday. The lawyers initially asked for a 20-year reduction of his sentence, but scaled that back to five years. Getting It Done In The Classroom: Granby, East Granby College Students, Recent Obituaries From Granby And East Granby, Who's Coming, Who's Going: The Latest Property Sales In Granby, Man Sentenced In Murder, Robbery Of Jewelry Store Owner: CT News, Wednesday's State Tournament Scoreboard: Hartford And Tolland Counties, Public Access TV Show Focuses On Non-Profits And Community Heroes, Granby-East Granby Area Real Estate Roundup, Hartford County Government: Mayor Bronin Activates Snow Parking Ban Tonight. (Kassi Jackson / Hartford Courant) SIMSBURY . Leverett told police that the day of the murder he was at a sex offender's therapy group in Hartford, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. HARTFORD, Conn. A man charged with the 2014 murder of a Simsbury mother has pleaded guilty, court documents show. Piri, who now lives in Naples, Florida, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 1, 2019 fatal shooting, Vermont State Police said. After several days of conversations, Leverett was charged with her murder, police said. 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Friends may call at the Ahern Funeral Home, 111 Main Street, Route 4, Unionville on Tuesday, Sept. 25, from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. Funeral services will be held in the Ahern Funeral Home at 1 pm with the Rev. Although a story that appeared in The Hartford Courant reported that Dominik's father was still active in his life, Wawrzyniak's mother, Mary, said Michael was in fact the boy's father. Leverett previously pleaded not guilty in connection with Millan's death in 2018. He always looked happy and I never heard them argue. Simon and DeCaprio argued that their client was too drunk at the time to realize the effect of his statements to police. "They were so young, and I just saw them the other day with their baby," Peterson said. Downey, his hair thinned and cut close, still towers over his lawyers. Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? He went on to tell investigators that he was embarrassed and scared and figured that if I just killed somebody it would make all that go away and I wouldnt have to explain myself., When he spotted Milan, a 54-year-old executive at Mass Mutual Life Insurance Co., running on the trail, he told investigators that he got mentally aroused, which then turned to anxiety and anger when he realized I cant have her and that she was way out of my league.. WILLIAM WINTERS LEVERETT was arrested in September 2018 and charged with murder in the November 2014 homicide of Melissa Millan in Simsbury. MURDER KILLER: William W. Leverett, now 30, formerly of Windsor Locks VICTIM: Melissa J. Millan, 54, of Simsbury, a senior vice president of MassMutual WHERE AND WHEN: Evening of Nov. 20, 2014. The manner of death for her husband, 59-year-old Bernard Halligan Jr., was ruled a suicide. William. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. He then allegedly went back and got the knife a few days later and threw it out in a trash compactor. They were a young couple with a little boy. "I never knew their names, but it seemed like they were working. Its not clear how that will impact his release date, which is now estimated to be February 2030. It was clear this was not an accidental shooting, Alexander said. Last week, investigators found Mr. Leveretts handwritten letters from 2014 which referred to a serious crime, but not a murder specifically and the glove in the barn, which was entered as evidence, the authorities said. "Officers from Avon and Simsbury assembled to make contact with the occupants of the apartment," Boulter wrote. SIMSBURY -- A young Simsbury couple died Wednesday evening, the apparent victims of a murder-suicide. Leverett will be sentenced on May 3. Christopher Keating is a reporter for the Hartford Courant. All rights reserved, High of 50 Thursday; Wintry Mix to Move in Friday Night, Plan for Canton Cannabis Dispensary Gets Approval, Avelo Says Airline Will Work to Improve Communication After NBC CT Responds Report, Hunter Accused of Killing 2 Pet Dogs in Ridgefield Appears in Court, Wintry Mix to Move in Friday Night, Snow and Sleet Accumulation Possible, Better Health: Dr. Katherine Rotker Discusses Vasectomy Procedure, NBC & Telemundo Connecticut Job Opportunities. . Clad in a yellow jumpsuit, Leverett offered short answers to Prats questions about the deal, which Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Vicki Melchiorre said included 10 years of special parole after the 35-year prison term. Their relationship was not working out, and Beth was trying to move back home with us.". ', Second winter storm could hit parts of CT Friday, National Weather Service says, 'Saturday Night Live' skit with Woody Harrelson takes place at Naval Submarine Base New London, Los Charros Cantina closes in Essex, will relocate to Branford, CT girls basketball top performers (Feb. 28), 5 CT companies hiring for 100 or more positions, CT DOT faces criticism following overnight tree-cutting: 'Who'd you notify before you went and cut it? Double-murder suicide in CT: PD/ Woman helps fuel restaurant biz/ Fire destroys garage/ $220K embezzlement case/ Bank access restricted. I guess they pretty much kept to themselves. I think my hands were shaking at this point. Wawrzyniak, devastated by her family's loss, said she was not ready to speak about the tragedy. Id like to see him released alive, Simon said. You can change your choices at any time by visiting your privacy controls. 'Something happened' and the next thing he knew he had stabbed her in the chest with a knife he was carrying. At one point, officers advised residents in the neighborhood to remain inside their homes. Leverett previously told police that on the night of Millan's death, he returned home from a sex offenders therapy group and felt lonely. "Perhaps it was a misinterpretation and they meant his grandfather," Wawrzyniak told Simsbury Patch. Melchiorre told the judge that a three-year sentence reduction was appropriate, given Downeys efforts to better himself in prison and the fact the conviction for murder was his first crime. When officers forced their way into the apartment, they found Day and Wawrzyniak dead, and their child uninjured. The case broke on Sept. 19, 2018, when Leverett, a registered sex offender working as an assistant manager at Fresh Market in Avon, went to the Simsbury Police Department to confess to the killing, arrest records show. Leverett is being held on a $2 million bond. Nicholas Boulter. She also leaves her grandfather, Buddy Day of Canton and Tina and Sal Difabio of New Hartford. At their urging, Leverett went to the police department to turn himself in. In the 911 call, Day was telling the dispatcher her boyfriend was holding a gun at her, threatening to shoot her and himself, according to a press release. He said he had blacked out, and when he realized what happened called 911 immediately, Alexander said. The arrest warrant detailed Leverett wrote confession letters the night of the murder. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The killing of Melissa Millan in 2014 shocked the town of Simsbury, Conn. An insurance executive and mother of two, Ms. Millan, 54, was stabbed while jogging and was found bloodied on a. Downey testified that he could not remember what happened the night of the shooting, Alexander said. Her homicide case went unsolved for nearly four years. DNA from the glove was analyzed and Leverett was arrested. Elizabeth, or "Beth" as she was known by those close to her, is remembered as a loving mother of her 14-month-old son Dominik, a talented student, and a valued employee at Ocean State Job Lot where she worked for six years, according to her obituary. Milan and Leverett had never met before the violent encounter, according to police. He will be sentenced on May 3, his public defender said. He went to walk along the path near Iron Horse Boulevard in hopes of finding someone to talk with. Mr. Leverett told the police that on the night of the murder, he had written letters confessing to the crime, though he never sent them. Davis classified the incident as a domestic violence shooting. Simsbury apparent murder-suicide kills 2, police investigating, Serious crash closes CT stretch of I-95 South, state police say, Suspect in 2021 fatal shooting arrested, Hamden police say, Police tape blocks off the door of an apparent shooting in Canton. William Leverett, a convicted sex offender, is accused of killing 54-year-old Melissa Millan in November 2014. CT 06045 Phone: 800-237-3606 Email: service@ . It was especially hard for them to hear that someone they knew could do this, Ms. Trazinski said. He was arrested several days later after police investigated his confession. The body of Roberto Fonseca-Rivera, 44, of Boston, Massachusetts, was found behind the wheel of the Katsiroubas Produce truck he had . The night of the killing, he was at a sex offenders support group meeting in Hartford. Baldini agreed to reduce Downeys sentence by four years. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said his department received a 911 call from an 18-year-old woman, who was identified as a family member from inside that residence, who witnessed the shooting and fled the home, running to a neighbor to call police. Leverett returns to court on Oct. 9, according to the Courant. He came home, felt lonely, went for a drive, spotted Millan jogging and said he got mentally aroused by her physical features before realizing she was, way out of my league., He got angry purposely ran into Millan took out a knife and plunged it into her chest as Millan fell back saying Oh my God.. Beth Day and Michael Wawrzyniak, who lived at the Meadows Apartments, 71 Hopmeadow St . Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Wawrzyniak is survived by his son Dominik, his parents, Jerry and Mary Wawrzyniak, his sister, Bernadette Wawrzyniak and two brothers, Nicholas and Erik Wawrzyniak. Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search FOX61 and click Get to download. In December 1994, a Hartford Superior Court jury took a little more than two days to convict Downey, then 38, of murder in the death of Mitchell, who was 39, on March 29, 1992. Beth Day and Michael Wawrzyniak, who lived at the Meadows Apartments, 71 Hopmeadow St., were found by Simsbury Police, shot to death in their home Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8:25 p.m., moments after a dispatcher heard gunshots during a 911 call from Day. Mr. Leverett said that Ms. Millan fell onto the road and that he thought he heard her say, Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, before he drove off in his car, according to the affidavit. Although he left the police station that night, police said they monitored Leverett from the time he initially confessed until his arrest on September 23. "I'll never get over this," said Day's mother. 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