Prosecutors in Massachusetts say they have uncovered a chilling pattern of killings, alleging that serial killer suspect Kevin J. Lino, a homeless man already convicted of two murders, may be responsible for even more deaths. 

According to reporting from Boston 25 News, Newsweek, and other outlets, investigators believe Lino fits the federal definition of a serial killer — and the full extent of his crimes may not yet be known.

Sources:
Boston 25 News – Bob Ward: https://www.boston25news.com
Newsweek – Jenna Sundel: https://www.newsweek.com
“New England’s Unsolved”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Survival World: Massachusetts Investigators Believe They’ve Found A New Serial Killer - Survival World

Prosecutors: “Mr. Lino Is a Serial Killer”

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan stated plainly in New England’s Unsolved:
“Mr. Lino is a serial killer.”

She cites the Department of Justice definition — at least two killings in separate incidents. Lino already has two murder convictions, one in Boston and one in Montana, and now faces charges in two additional killings long considered accidents or cold cases.

Newsweek reporter Jenna Sundel notes that Lino has been charged with first-degree murder in the 2010 killing of Gary A. Melanson, 54, and the 2012 killing of Douglas Leon Clarke, 30. Both men were homeless. Both deaths were initially misclassified.

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A Trail of Violence Begins in Lowell

The 2010 killing of Gary Melanson was the first known case. Melanson’s body was found near a homeless encampment by the Rogers Street Bridge in Lowell. Though Melanson suffered visible injuries, the medical examiner ruled his cause of death “undetermined.”

Cold case detectives later learned of Lino’s possible involvement after a 2018 investigation uncovered new links. Prosecutors now believe Lino fatally beat Melanson with a metal baseball bat during a dispute over campfire smoke that Lino feared would attract police.

Deadly “Hot Shot” in Cambridge

In 2012, Douglas Leon Clarke died on the banks of the Charles River. Toxicology reports at the time suggested an overdose. But years later, investigators revisited the case and concluded Clarke may have been deliberately given a fatal heroin dose — a method known as a “hot shot.”

Sundel reports that prosecutors believe Lino intentionally administered the lethal injection, masking murder as addiction.

Previous Murders and the Pattern Investigators See

Lino is already serving time for two earlier murders:

• Normand Varieur, killed in Charlestown in 2012
• Jack Gilbert Berry, a homeless man killed in Missoula, Montana, in 2014

All four known victims — Melanson, Clarke, Varieur, and Berry — were unhoused. Each was killed in a separate incident, and each by a different method: blunt force, poisoning, overdose staging, and other forms of violence.

Criminologist James Alan Fox of Northeastern University explained to Bob Ward:
“The homeless are vulnerable. They’re easy targets. They’re defenseless.”
He added that when unhoused people disappear,
“We just don’t have the same response. We might not even know that they are dead.”

A Possible Fifth Victim?

Travis Mateer, a Montana journalist and former homeless outreach coordinator, told Ward he fears another unhoused man — Monte Swanson — may also be a victim.
“I think that Monte Swanson is dead, and I think Kevin Lino was involved,” Mateer said.

DA Ryan acknowledged the possibility of more victims, emphasizing that her office “continues to investigate” and will “never give up on those cases.”

Cold Case Units Push Forward

It took nearly a decade, multiple states, and multiple investigative agencies re-opening long-dormant files to reveal the pattern. What once appeared to be accidental overdoses or unexplained injuries now looks like serial predation targeting the most vulnerable.

If prosecutors are right, Lino was a serial killer hiding in plain sight. He was hunting among marginalized communities that society too often overlooks.