William Morton Charged in 41-Year-Old Rhode Island Murder After DNA Match

Q: What unseen clue finally led investigators to tail William Morton decades after the brutal 1985 cold case?

The break came from modern forensic genealogy: renewed DNA testing on evidence preserved from Hillary Hellewell’s clothing pointed investigators to a family line connected to William Morton. After reopening the case in 2023, Rhode Island investigators reexamined semen and other biological evidence from Hellewell’s pants and a blue T-shirt found near her body. Earlier suspects, including men who had been with her the night she died, were excluded. More advanced testing then identified relatives whose DNA appeared related to the unknown male profile, eventually leading investigators to Morton through paternal half-brothers and other family connections. Once Morton emerged as a likely suspect, investigators began tracking him. The decisive physical link came in August, when they followed him to a concert in Woonsocket and recovered a discarded water bottle he had drunk from and left behind. DNA from that bottle matched the profile developed from the 1985 evidence, helping authorities tie him to the killing and make the arrest.

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 7

William Morton, 61, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the 1985 killing of 22-year-old Hillary Hellewell in Newport, Rhode Island.
A discarded water bottle led to the arrest after investigators tailed Morton to an August concert, collected the bottle and matched his DNA to crime-scene evidence.
Newport police said recent DNA testing during a cold-case review identified Morton as a suspect in the decades-old case.
Tuesday's arraignment sent the case to the public defender's office, marking a major break in a 41-year-old investigation into Hellewell's sexual assault and killing.