For more than four decades, the murder of Hillary Hellewell was the kind of case that never truly closed, even as the file grew dusty and the witnesses scattered and the rhythms of life moved on. A 22-year-old woman, found dead on a Newport sidewalk in the early morning of a spring day in 1985, had no one to speak for her except the evidence that investigators had carefully preserved all those years ago. Then, in late August, in a small Rhode Island theater, a man bought a bottle of water, sipped it during a concert, and left it behind. That throwaway piece of trash, it turns out, was the key to unlocking a mystery that had haunted a community for over forty years. William “Billy” Morton, now 61, was arrested on Oct. 6 and charged with first-degree murder in Hellewell’s death. The arrest came after investigators used new DNA technology to connect Morton to the crime, finally giving the cold case the new beginning it had been waiting for. According to court records, an investigator followed Morton and his fiancée to a concert by Bad Animals, a Heart tribute band, at a theater in Woonsocket, watched Morton buy popcorn and bottled water, and later collected the water bottle after the couple left early. DNA recovered from that bottle matched evidence found on Hellewell’s body, and a long-dormant case suddenly had a living, breathing suspect.
The story of Hellewell’s final hours is one of youth and tragedy, a night out that ended in devastating violence. Her body was discovered on May 19, 1985, around 4:15 in the morning, by two brothers, aged 17 and 20, who were on their way to work. She was lying on the sidewalk along Anthony Street in Newport, still wearing white painter’s pants, a sweater, and socks—but no shoes. The officers who arrived found her body mostly cold to the touch, with some areas still slightly warm. A medical examiner later determined that she died from asphyxia due to strangulation, and her death was ruled a homicide. There was a blood stain on the back of her white pants, and a heavily soiled blue T-shirt was found near her head. Internal swabs revealed the presence of spermatozoa, showing that there had been sexual contact. She was identified the following day after she was reported missing. Friends and family told investigators that Hellewell had attended a gathering in Newport the night before, where everyone had been drinking alcohol. At some point, she had offered to walk home with a male friend who had become heavily intoxicated. That friend made it home safely. Hellewell did not. The next day, the friend was still so drunk that he could barely speak with police, and although the men close to her at the time were eventually ruled out as potential donors of the sperm, Newport Police could not develop a viable suspect. Still, at the time of her murder, investigators collected and preserved DNA evidence, not knowing whether technology would one day be able to read it.
For years, the case sat cold, but it was never forgotten. In 2004, state officials reviewed the file, hoping that new advances in DNA technology might offer something. During that review, DNA profiles for both Hellewell and her unknown killer were entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, but there was no match. The case lay quiet again until 2023, when the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office formed a new Cold Case Unit dedicated to revisiting old killings. Hellewell’s case was selected for another look, and with recent breakthroughs in DNA evaluation, the evidence was sent to a private laboratory for advanced testing. That work changed everything. The new analysis brought a lead into sharp focus, and suddenly Morton emerged as a suspect. Investigators were able to trace his family line through the DNA found on Hellewell’s body, narrowing the search until it landed on him. Court records also revealed something else: Morton had been convicted in 1987 of a violent sexual assault in Newport, and that assault had been committed just 45 days after Hellewell’s death. It happened only a couple of miles from where her body was found. For that crime, Morton was sentenced to twenty years in prison, though he served seven years behind bars and completed the rest of his sentence on probation. It was a violent history that made him even more credible as a suspect, but investigators still needed his DNA to confirm the connection.
That is where the concert became the scene of a quiet but dramatic investigation. Senior cold case investigator Michael Nayor, with the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, began watching Morton and following his movements. On Aug. 21, Naylor tailed Morton and his fiancée as they stopped at a Burger King and then headed to a theater in Woonsocket for the Bad Animals concert. Naylor bought a ticket and went inside, blending in with the crowd. He watched as Morton purchased popcorn and two bottles of water. During the performance, Morton drank from one of the bottles and eventually set it on the seat beside him. Naylor took careful note. When Morton and his fiancée left the concert early, they left the water bottle behind. Naylor retrieved it and submitted it for DNA testing. The DNA profile obtained from the bottle was consistent with the previously reported partial profiles from the sperm stain on Hellewell’s pants and from a stain on the blue T-shirt found near her body, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health. It was the scientific link investigators had been seeking for years. The discarded bottle, a piece of everyday life, had become the final clue that tied Morton to a killing that had long ago grown cold. The meticulous work was a reminder that even the smallest and most forgotten items can sometimes carry the largest weight.
With the DNA match in hand, law enforcement moved swiftly. On Oct. 6, officers from multiple agencies arrived at Morton’s home at about seven in the morning, just as he was leaving for his job as a service technician at a Volkswagen dealership. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the Rhode Island District Court Second Division. He is being held without bond as the case moves forward. The case will now go to a grand jury, and a status conference was scheduled for Oct. 20. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said the case would move through the legal system, and Fox News Digital was unable to reach Morton’s attorney for comment. The arrest brought a dramatic turn to a case that many had likely assumed would never be solved. For Hellewell’s family and friends, it meant that the person who had taken her life so many years ago would finally have to answer for it. For the investigators who had reopened the file, it was the payoff of years of persistence and advances in forensic science. And for Morton, the ordinary moments of a summer date night—a quick stop for fast food, a concert, a sip of water in a darkened theater—suddenly became part of a much darker story.
The resolution of this cold case speaks to something larger than any single investigation. It shows how far technology has come in reading the secrets left behind on a victim’s body, and how determined law enforcement has become in refusing to let old cases disappear. It also humanizes the victims, reminding us that behind every cold case there is a real person whose life was cut short and whose family has lived with grief for decades. Hillary Hellewell was a young woman with friends, a community, and a future that was stolen on a Newport street in 1985. While no outcome can bring her back, the arrest of a suspect offers a measure of accountability and a chance for closure to those who loved her. In the end, it took a discarded water bottle, a dedicated investigator, and a new generation of science to give voice to a victim who had been silent for forty years. The case is another chapter in the ongoing promise of cold case units across the country: that even when the trail has gone cold, justice can still find its way home.
