SARASOTA, Fla. — A convicted killer arrested last week has been charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found near a boat ramp, the Sarasota Police Department said Monday during a press conference.
Police say he's also a "strong suspect" in the murder of another woman.
On Friday, 52-year-old William Devonshire was charged with murder in connection with the death of 48-year-old Kelliann Ripley, a woman who was found dead on Feb. 25 near the Centennial Park boat ramp.
Ripley's family allowed police to reveal her identity, interim Chief Rex Troche said.
Troche said Ripley's cause of death was blunt force trauma and manual strangulation.
Devonshire was first arrested on March 25 on charges of trespassing, possession of cocaine and possession of paraphernalia. Troche said the department had probable cause to keep Devonshire under surveillance and was able to arrest him on trespassing and drug possession charges.
After his arrest, police say they had reason to charge Devonshire in connection with the woman's murder.
Investigators were able to match a sample of Devonshire's DNA with evidence found on Ripley's body.
Troche said Devonshire has a "lengthy" criminal history, including a murder conviction.
Since the beginning of March, the search for the killer, or killers of two women found dead near North Tamiami Trail has been underway.
Sarasota police said they were investigating the two recent deaths as apparent homicides, but were unable to release many details — a common tactic in homicide investigations.
Until Monday, police had not determined if the two women's deaths were connected. Now, they are investigating the homicides in tandem with one another.
The women were found dead, not far from each other, on two different days in recent weeks. Police said they are still working on determining if Devonshire knew the two women or if the women knew each other.