Episode 109: William Sarmento
William “Billy” Sarmento had an extremely troubled life from the very beginning. With bizarre behavior from as early as elementary school, Billy was an outcast who constantly was getting himself in trouble. As a child, he spent a lot of time disappearing from home and living in sewers and abandoned houses. Before puberty even hit, Billy was having violent mood swings with very unpredictable behavior, and also developed a passion for guns and Satan.
By the age of 13, Billy didn’t fit into the conventional school settings, due to his manic behavior and constant disruption during class. By the age of 14, Billy had been committed to several psychiatric institutions, displaying more bizarre and violent behavior. At age 18, Billy knifed a fellow teenager over an argument about a bike, which landed him in the Adult Correctional Institute.
In the fall of 1987, Billy had been arrested several times and continued to display violent tendencies, including threatening his girlfriend with a sawed-off shotgun, chasing a man with a spear, and killing animals. On November 4th, 1987, Billy lured 9-year-old Frankie Barnes on a bike trip to Tongue Pond in Cranston, Rhode Island. Here, Billy stabbed the child and tossed his body into the pond. His body wasn’t found for almost 6 weeks, following a letter sent to police with directions.
On December 14th, 1987, 6-year-old Jason Wolf was getting mail outside his home in Providence, Rhode Island when Billy somehow managed to lure him on a walk, which ended at Mashapaug Pond. Billy found a wood board and hit Jason over the head with it, killing him. His body was found on December 21st.
Billy was apprehended shortly after sending a taunting letter to police. He claimed that he didn’t want to kill the boys, but Satan had told him to. He was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity and was sentenced indefinitely to the State Institute for Mental Health in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Image sources:
ebay.com - “Wire Press Photo 1987 William Sarmento arrainged for murder Providence RI”
newspapers.com - “Frankie Barnes”