On a quiet Sunday morning, March 30, 2008, 61-year-old Caucasian female Mary Ellen Welsh was visiting her friend, Carol Larese, for coffee at her New Britain, Connecticut, home. The morning took a horrific turn when an intruder, Leslie Williams, entered the residence through an unlocked door. Williams, who had been released from prison just four weeks prior after serving a sentence for sexual assault, was seeking money and a car.
Inside the home, Williams confronted the two women.
He forced both Welsh and Larese into the basement, where he shot Larese in the head. Believing her to be dead, he then sexually assaulted Welsh before abducting her and fleeing in her vehicle. Larese, however, survived the shooting by pretending to be deceased and was able to seek help from a neighbor after Williams left.
A police chase ensued later that day after Williams was spotted in Welsh's vehicle. The pursuit ended when he crashed the car in Watertown, about 25 miles away from the initial crime scene. Williams was taken into custody. The following day, authorities discovered Mary Ellen Welsh's body in a wooded area near a quarry in Bristol. An autopsy later confirmed that she had been fatally shot in the head and back.
Leslie Williams was charged with a multitude of crimes, including capital felony, murder, attempted murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping. He had a history of criminal activity and had reportedly told police that he had resorted to breaking into houses because he couldn't make money legally. In December 2011, to avoid a potential death sentence, Williams pleaded guilty to the charges against him. In March 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.
