In November 2014, a popular bike path in a quiet town became the scene of a murder. But for four years, there was no suspect in sight for the death of a Connecticut jogger and mom.
Then, in September 2018, a registered sex offender went to see his pastor and a chilling confession finally came. Here’s what happened on that cold night in November.
Melissa Millan
Millan, 54, worked at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, where she was a senior vice president. She was a divorced mother of two, and an avid runner who competed in triathlons. On November 20, 2014, a cold night, Millan put on her running gear- leopard print running pants, a bright pink jacket with reflective straps, pink sneakers, and a headlamp.
Avid Runner
According to a police report, Millan started pounding down a running trail weaving through Simsbury, Connecticut around 7:30 pm. The “Greenway” was a strip of pavement running parallel along Iron Horse Boulevard, and it separated the street by a low wooden fence and was lit at intervals with street lamps, according to The Washington Post.
Iron Horse Boulevard
Iron Horse Boulevard was part of the Farmington River Trail, which is part of a larger loop of bike trails spanning 50 miles in Connecticut and connecting to rail trails in Southwick and Westfield. As Millan ran down the empty trail, she covered one mile, then two. But not too long after beginning her run, Millan was found stabbed along the Boulevard, 11 miles northwest of Hartford.
Murder
She was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital and an autopsy determined that she died of stab wounds to the chest and her death was a homicide. Her murder was a shock to those at MassMutual who knew her and also to the entire community.
Simsbury
Considering that the town of Simsbury was quiet, having only 23,000 residents, police said at the time that the attack appeared to be random. The town’s previous homicide was in 2012 as part of a murder-suicide incident. Before that, there was a death in 2001 that ended in a manslaughter conviction, as reported by Masslive.com.
A Safe Community
During a news conference, Simsbury Police Chief Peter Ingvertsen said, “This is an isolated act not common at all to this community … Simsburg is a safe community.” Ingvertsen said that more leads and physical evidence had been discovered by the police department, but for four years, there was no suspect in sight for the death of Melissa Millan.
Memorial
After her murder, more than 100 coworkers attended a private memorial ceremony for Millan at her company’s Enfield location. A statement issued by the company expressed condolences to her family and friends, and noted: “Melissa’s tremendous leadership qualities, business acumen, and deeply caring nature will be missed by those who had the opportunity to work with her.”
Reward
Eight months after the murder, an anonymous donor offered a $4,000 reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The case went quiet, until Wednesday, September 19, 2018, when a man walked into Simsbury Police Headquarters to confess to the murder of Millan.
Connecticut Church
William Leverett, 27, of Windsor Locks, reportedly barged into a Connecticut church and confessed to worshipers that he was the man who killed a Hartford jogger four years ago. Michael Trazinski, the pastor at Open Gate Ministries in East Granby, told ABC News that he and handful of parishioners with him knew what they had to do after Leverett told him that he stabbed Millan.
Justice
“Justice needed to be done,” Tranzinski said. So, the pastor and two other people took Leverett to the Simsbury police department to turn himself in. “I’m here to turn myself in for the murder on Iron Horse Boulevard almost four years ago,” he told police. Leverett explained to cops that he went to the running trail the night of November 20, 2014, looking for some “human contact.”
Confession
As he walked into the police station accompanied by several church leaders, Leverett said that same night, he arrived home to an empty house and felt quite lonely. Compelled to talk to just about anyone, Leverett decided to go for a walk on the Greenway, hoping to find a stranger to chat with.
That Night
He allegedly had a lot on his mind and he drove to the Greenway, parked, and walked the trail. No one was out and it was cold, so Leverett got back in his car and was about to pull onto Iron Horse Boulevard when a woman in a pink top crossed into his headlights. Leverett was “immediately attracted to her,” investigators wrote in their report.
Mentally Aroused
He told police he was “getting mentally aroused,” so Leverett swung his car onto the road. His plan was to park ahead and hopefully cross paths with the jogger, but his thoughts turned sour on the quick drive. “I can’t have her,” he thought to himself. “She’s way out of my league.”
Anger
Leverett became angry and his anger “escalated rapidly” as he went into a frenzy. He had a knife in his car and he decided to attack her. As he jogged down the dark trail, Millan stopped when she came across the tall young man blocking her way. Leverett then thrust the knife blade into her chest, puncturing her lung and touching her heart.
The Attack
Millan reportedly pushed him, freeing the knife from her body but then forcing herself back over the trail’s low fence. She collapsed into the street. “Oh my God, what have I done?” Leverett thought to himself, recalling his mindset to police. But, despite his confession, it wasn’t enough.
The Crime
As the police report noted, Leverett did recall details on the crime only the perpetrator would know, but physical evidence was an issue. An investigator asked Leverett “Where was the knife?” He told investigators that he washed his pants and his shirt on the night of the stabbing, then dropped them off at a Goodwill donation box.
Physical Evidence
Leverett said he had been wearing gloves when he killed Millan, although, at first, he told police he tossed them as well. Then, he remembered that he threw the gloves up into the rafters of a barn on his family’s property. They were bloody, but he wanted to keep them out of sight. But when one of the gloves flopped back down, he put it in the trash.
Finding The Evidence
The other glove “fell into a crevasse behind a cabinet that he could not reach.” By this time, the house had new owners, but the glove was still there. The barn was also standing when police went looking with the new property’s owner’s permission on September 20. They spotted the glove stuck between two walls and Leverett identified it as the one he was wearing in 2014.
DNA Evidence
The blood on the item also matched Millan’s DNA, giving police the link they needed. Leverett was formally charged with the homicide of Millan’s murder and he is being held on a $2 million bail at Hartford. After confessing to Millan’s murder, police announced that Leverett is also a convicted sex offender and is listed in the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry. He is not listed for any offenses that occurred in Connecticut, but only in the state of Colorado.
Charges
The website Heavy reported that Leverett lived for a time with his grandparents in Simsbury. Their home on Goodrich Road is a mile away from the murder scene. After Leverett was charged with the murder, Millan’s brother released a statement on behalf of the family saying the arrest “brings renewed grief, heartache and the knowledge that justice can never be served for the senseless act that robbed us of Melissa’s beautiful presence.”
