Police said suspect will be charged in Cambridge and Lowell cold cases
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, Lowell Police Commissioner Gregory Hudon, and Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow said Tuesday that Kevin J. Lino, 38, a former resident of Lowell, will face two murder charges for the deaths of Douglas Leon Clarke, 30, in Cambridge, and Gary A. Melanson, 54, in Lowell.
Melanson was beaten to death with a baseball bat under the Rogers Street Bridge in Lowell in 2010. Clarke was originally thought to have died of an accidental overdose by the Charles River in Cambridge in 2012, but police said they now believe Lino intentionally gave him the overdose after an argument.
According to authorities, Lino and Melanson were unhoused and living in an encampment near the Rogers Street Bridge in Lowell when Melanson lit fires to stay warm after Lino had told him not to, fearing it would draw the attention of authorities. Police allege Lino then attacked Melanson with an aluminum bat. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Melanson had injuries to his head, torso and limbs, including fractured ribs, a collapsed lung and a fractured arm.
Two years later, police allege, Lino was living in a homeless encampment near the Harvard Square MBTA station when he gave Clarke a fatal overdose of heroin. Police said Lino allegedly wanted to drive out heroin-using members of the group. Police said he also attacked other heroin users, leading to a confrontation with Clarke.
Police said they discovered a link between the cases while investigating an unrelated case. Lino is serving a sentence in Suffolk County for an unrelated crime. His arraignment on the new charges hasn't been scheduled yet.
"It is when we are able, in collaboration with both our state and local police partners, to really dedicate the resources to looking at new evidence to developing new information and being able to get to a place where we are able to know the truth about what has happened and to begin the process of holding people accountable," said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
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