SIMSBURY, CT (WFSB) - After nearly four years, Simsbury police have made an arrest in the stabbing death of Mass Mutual executive Melissa Millan.
On Sunday, Simsbury police arrested 27-year-old William Winters Leverett, who is a registered sex offender.
On Nov. 20, 2014, 54-year-old Millan was found having been stabbed to death
along a popular trail in Simsbury, on Iron Horse Boulevard.
Leverett, a Windsor Locks resident, was convicted of sexual assault on a child in Colorado in 2011. He is also registered as a sex offender in Connecticut.
In 2014, a driver had called police around 8 p.m., and when officers arrived, they found Millan’s body, having been stabbed to death.
According to court documents obtained on Monday, Leverett went to the Simsbury Police Department last Wednesday and said he wanted to speak with someone regarding the murder that quote, “happened a few years ago.”
The affidavit details Leverett’s hours-long interviews with investigators, including him telling police this all started after he attended a sex offender’s therapy group in Hartford.
He told police he returned home and was lonely and wanted to go for a walk along the path in the hopes of finding someone.
That’s when, according to these documents, he saw Millan.
“Mr. Leverett claimed that he only wanted a chance to speak with her but that ‘something happened’ and the next thing he knew he had stabbed her in the chest with a knife he was carrying,” court documents said.
According to the documents, Leverett panicked and fled from the scene.
He made every attempt to clean his clothes, discard the knife, and ditch gloves. One of them was recovered last Thursday.
In the warrant Leverett, "said that when he began thinking about a possible interaction wit her, he became anxious, realizing 'I can't have her' and that 'She's way out of my league."
He appeared in court Monday morning and is being held on a $2 million bond.
At a press conference with Simsbury Police, they wouldn't answer any questions, but said the town is reaching out to Millan's family.
"I imagine the arrest this week will bring up renewed grief, unspeakably complex emotions, but it's my hope that eventually it will bring you some degree of peace," said Simsbury First Selectman Eric Wellman.
On Monday, Millan's family released a statement saying,
"The family, friends and coworkers of Melissa Millan are thankful for the outpouring of love and support we’ve received since Melissa’s death in November 2014. Melissa was a loving mother, a devoted daughter, a witty and compassionate sister, a loyal friend, an intelligent, successful businesswoman and mentor to many. The arrest and arraignment of the suspect 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.
We extend our gratitude to the Simsbury Police Department and other participating law enforcement agencies for all of their work. Now as we confront our individual and collective grief and sorrow, we humbly request respect for our privacy during this difficult and emotional time."
Leverett had been working at a grocery store in Avon for 5 years.
In previous interviews, Millan was remembered as a hard worker, a dedicated mother, and an avid runner.
Last year, a
$40,000 reward was being offered by the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney Cold Case Unit and the Simsbury Police Department for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible for her death.
Leverett's landlord in Windsor Locks, Brian Durso, had told Channel 3 that Leverett couldn't live with himself anymore and needed to confess to police.
"This young man went to the leaders of the church that I had been associated with and he was, and they made a decision after I think a lot of tear and prayer to go to the authorities," said Durso.
Durso was thankful for the confession, but questions why police didn't hold Leverett in custody.
"Some of us are asking what is it that prevented them from holding him so that he would be safe and so would everybody else after a confession like that. It's not like he robbed a bookstore, he knew what he was going to be up against. We are just wondering why it was that he was left alone," Durso said.
Durso said he is reaching out to local and state leaders to see if there is a better way a murder confession such as this one can be handled.
"We want everyone to know that our deepest belated condolences to this family who has suffered are first and foremost in our mind. We also want to acknowledge that this young man had to have real moral courage, real moral fiber to realize he's about to make a decision to spend the rest of his life in jail," said Durso.
Leverett was set to appear in Enfield Superior Court on Monday.