Authorities have identified a suspect in connection with the deaths of two individuals from over a decade ago.
Kevin Lino, aged 38, and residing in Lowell, has been formally accused of murdering two people in Massachusetts, as outlined by prosecutors.
Lino is already serving a life sentence plus an additional 40 years for the killings of Norman Varieur in Charlestown in 2012 and Jack Gilbert Berry in 2014.
However, new charges have been filed by prosecutors, suggesting that Varieur and Berry may not have been Lino’s only victims.
The recent charges against Lino allege that in 2010, two years prior to Varieur’s death, Lino committed another murder at a homeless encampment in Lowell, where he resided at the time.
The 2010 incident allegedly involved a 23-year-old Lino attacking 54-year-old Gary Melanson with an aluminum baseball bat.
Reports suggest that Lino became enraged when Mr. Melanson refused to extinguish a fire upon Lino’s request, leading to a violent outburst.
According to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, “After the victim allegedly ignored the defendant’s order, the defendant rushed the victim, who was much smaller and older than the defendant, and struck him repeatedly with a metal baseball bat, killing him.”
Two years later, it is alleged by the District Attorney’s Office that Lino tried to expel heroin users from a camp where he was residing by assaulting many of them.
Douglas Leon Clarke, aged 30, reportedly confronted Lino, who then decided to ‘punish him for his insolence by poisoning him’.
Prosecutors claim that Lino administered a lethal dose of heroin, known as a ‘hot shot’, to Clarke.
District Attorney Marian Ryan expressed in a press release, “This defendant is alleged to repeatedly and deliberately victimize some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, unhoused individuals. The actions alleged in these cases were not only violent and cruel, but inhumane.”
“We recognize the pain and uncertainty endured by the families and friends of Mr. Melanson and Mr. Clarke, who have long awaited answers about what happened to their loved ones. It is our hope that today’s arraignments will bring them a measure of peace,” she added.
In a conversation with Boston 25 News, Ryan further described Lino as a ‘serial killer’, noting: “Mr Lino is a serial killer. The Department of Justice defines a serial killer as someone who has taken the life of two individuals in separate situations.”
“In this case, we have already seen convictions in two. We’ve now brought charges in two more,” Ryan remarked.
She also highlighted Lino’s alleged targeting of ‘vulnerable’ individuals, stating: “This defendant is alleged to repeatedly and deliberately victimize some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, unhoused individuals.
“The actions alleged in these cases were not only violent and cruel, but inhumane,” she continued.
Ryan further mentioned that the investigation into potential other victims is ongoing: “You know, we continue to investigate that.
“We never give up on those cases. We don’t forget about them, and we stay open to other information.”
Lino is currently in custody, awaiting trial for these new charges.