William Devonshire

William Jeffrey Devonshire (September 23, 1969 – June 5, 2022) was an American serial killer. A habitual criminal with a murder conviction in his native state of Delaware, he became known for murdering two homeless women in Florida in 2022. Devonshire died from medical complications while awaiting trial, but was posthumously linked to both crimes via DNA.

Early life and first murder Little is known about Devonshire's early life. Born on September 23, 1969, in Wilmington, Delaware, he started committing crimes at age 14 and by the time of his first murder he had accrued convictions for a variety of crimes in the states of Delaware, Maryland, Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey. His rap sheet included crimes such as assault, aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, battery, burglary, and trespassing.

By 2003, Devonshire was residing in Magnolia, where he lived on the same street as 51-year-old Albert C. Harris Sr. On April 6, Harris was found bludgeoned to death inside his mobile home on Irish Hill Road. The murder came as a shock to locals, who theorized that it was likely committed by someone acquainted with him.

Over the following months, Devonshire was imprisoned at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on unrelated charges. DNA evidence collected at his home linked him to Harris' murder, and he was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony.

Release and new murders Despite attempts to delay the proceedings, Devonshire was put on trial, convicted of first-degree murder and imprisoned.

Not long after, on March 10, the body of 59-year-old Vicky Levitch was found in the vicinity of the northern Tamiami Trail, near Whitaker Bayou. Like Ripley, she had been extensively beaten and manually strangled, indicating to police that the two cases might have been committed by the same perpetrator. As part of the ongoing investigations, Levitch's identity was withheld until a suspect could be arrested in her case.

Arrest, detention and death Just a day after Levitch's murder, Devonshire was arrested for trespassing and drug possession. While lodged in the county jail, he was obliged to submit a DNA sample as a convicted offender, which allowed authorities to link him to Ripley's murder. The testing continued until October 2022, when his DNA was definitively linked to both Ripley and Levitch's bodies, proving that he was their killer.