SARASOTA, Fla. — An inmate charged in the death of a woman along North Tamiami Trail and was linked to a second homicide has died, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office announced.
William Devonshire died at 6:38 a.m. on Sunday at the Sarasota County Jail, police said on Monday. Authorities say the 52-year-old, who had a lengthy criminal record — including a murder conviction, was taken to the hospital on May 17 after suffering a seizure and hitting his head, resulting in a brain bleed. He returned to jail on May 27 where he remained under hospice care.
Authorities added that Devonshire had epilepsy and was refusing to take his medication leading up to his death.
Devonshire was taken into custody on March 25 for trespassing and drug-related charges, though after his arrest, police say they had reason to charge him with murder for the death of 48-year-old Kelliann Ripley. She was found dead on Feb. 25 near the Centennial Park boat ramp.
Devonshire voluntarily gave a mouth swab for DNA comparison on March 15, which later was found to be a match to Ripley's DNA, the department said.
In the statement Monday, the Sarasota Police Department says its investigators have "indisputable evidence" that connects Devonshire not only to Ripley's death but to another woman who was found dead in early March near the shore of Whitaker Bayou. During a press conference, authorities identified her as Vicky Levitch.
"After analyzing the evidence in both homicides, we have determined that William Devonshire committed both crimes," Sarasota Police Captain Johnathan Todd said in a statement. "Our detectives were in the process of writing a probable cause affidavit charging Devonshire with the murder of the second female victim in March of this year when we learned of his death."
The State Attorney's Office of the 12th Judicial Circuit cannot continue to prosecute the case because of Devonshire's death, the department said.
Detectives on Monday called the similarities between the two women's deaths "striking." They said both Ripley and Levitch died by strangulation and were "brutally beaten" before their deaths. The women were found dead not far from each other near homeless camps in Sarasota.
Police had said they were still working on determining if Devonshire knew the two women or if the women knew each other. They did say on Monday that both women were "homeless or quasi-homeless."
Friends who knew Ripley told 10 Tampa Bay that she would be there for everybody.
"Everybody loved Kellie, she was wonderful," said Victoria Austin, an unhoused resident of Sarasota. She continued, "She would go to the store for people, she would do everything for people. There is no reason she should be out here gone."
You can watch the full update on Devonshire's death below.