NEWPORT, RI — A Smithfield man has been charged with first-degree murder in the 1985 death of Hillary Hellewell, a case that sat unsolved for more than four decades before investigators tied him to DNA evidence. William Morton, 61, was arrested Tuesday after Rhode Island officials said preserved material from the crime scene and a discarded water bottle helped identify him.
Hellewell was 22 when she was found unresponsive on Anthony Street in Newport on the morning of May 19, 1985. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Morton’s arrest reflects a long-running effort to use newer forensic tools on older cases. Morton was being held without bail, and a status conference is set for Oct. 20.
How investigators say DNA broke open the case
According to Neronha, the breakthrough began with evidence preserved from Hellewell’s pants. Rhode Island did not have DNA testing available in 1985, but investigators later extracted a profile from the preserved material. That profile became the anchor for renewed work on the case.
Analysts compared the profile with samples from men who were at the gathering, men who knew Hellewell and the man she left with that night. Officials said all of those men were excluded as possible sources of the semen found in the evidence. Years later, investigators used DNA information to identify members of Morton’s family, which helped point them toward him.
What prosecutors say happened in 1985
Neronha said Hellewell had been at a gathering with friends in Newport before leaving with a heavily intoxicated man she knew. She was later found with blood and semen on her pants, and a soiled T-shirt near her head, according to officials.
The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide after determining she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Neronha, who said he knew Hellewell, described her as “an amazing, fun, energetic person.” The killing became one of Newport’s long-running unsolved cases, with no arrest for decades after her death.
Cold case reopened in 2023 after decades without an arrest
Officials said the case was reopened in 2023 as part of a broader push to revisit unsolved killings with modern DNA work. In August, investigators followed Morton and collected a discarded water bottle, then tested the DNA on it against the preserved evidence from the case.
Authorities said the bottle DNA matched the evidence linked to Hellewell’s killing. That match led to Tuesday morning’s arrest. Neronha said his office has used the latest DNA advances to solve four previously unsolved cases over the past year, with more cases still under review.
Morton’s prior Newport conviction may factor into the next steps
Authorities said Morton also has a separate Newport conviction tied to a 1985 sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. Rhode Island Supreme Court records show he was convicted in that case, and his appeal was denied in 1989.
Neronha said prosecutors may present additional charges to a grand jury as the homicide case moves forward. Newport Police Chief Patrick Duffy praised the Criminal Investigation Division and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit, saying cases like this show that time does not lessen the commitment to justice for victims and their families.
What the arrest means for Hellewell’s family and the city’s cold cases
Hellewell’s case is now moving through the courts, but officials emphasized that the arrest does not erase the length of time it took to reach this point. Neronha framed the work as part of a larger effort to give families answers even when full closure is not possible.
For Newport investigators, the arrest marks a major step in one of the city’s oldest unsolved killings. For Hellewell’s loved ones, the case finally has a named suspect after 41 years, and prosecutors say the evidence review is not finished.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
