A suspect in the deaths of two homeless women in Sarasota has died in jail.
Police say 52-year-old William Devonshire was facing charges in two separate homicides----one in late February, the other in March. Police chief Rex Troche outlined the case after Devonshire's arrest. "This case was solved using science and technology," Troche said. "It was also solved thanks to the men and women of our agency."
Devonshire was arrested in late March, 2022 after a DNA sample proved to be a match to swabs collected from one of the victims, Kelliann Ripley. Her body was found in late February in a wooded area in the 1100 block of North Tamiami Trail. Days later, on March 10, the body of another woman was found not far away.
"We had some information leading us to believe that he (Devonshire) could be our suspect, so we had surveillance on him while we were trying to work on the back end with respect to the DNA," Troche said.
Devonshire had a criminal history in several states, and was convicted of murder in the state of Delaware in 2005. He was hospitalized in mid-May following a medical event, and after his return to the jail, was under hospice care with a "do not resuscitate" order.
photo: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office
video: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office