William Sarmento

Case record: William Sarmento

Background

William Sarmento was confined indefinitely at the state Institute for Mental Health in Cranston after killing two children in Providence in 1987. He admitted killing Frankie Lee Barnes Jr. and Jason Wolf in Providence in 1987, and he elected to waive a jury trial.

Sarmento was still confined in the forensic unit at Eleanor Slater Hospital. In his confession to police, Sarmento, who was 22 at the time, said he was tormented by visions of the devil.

Evidence introduced at his trial showed a documented pattern of bizarre, sometimes violent behavior that could be traced back to Sarmento's first years in elementary school. As a teen, he spent months living in sewers, abandoned houses, his family's dog house. He became fascinated by Satan, guns, knives and read the Bible incessantly. His moods and behavior swung unpredictably.

Police were familiar with Sarmento. In 1985, he pled guilty to assaulting a neighborhood dog catcher and was sentenced to one year's probation. Three days later, he was picked up again on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, and he served 20 days in jail for violating his probation.

A neighbor reported Sarmento often dressed in fatigues and wielded a knife. A neighbor recalled that Sarmento liked to dress in fatigues and thrust a machete or smaller knife into a boarded-up house. “He'd stab the house with a knife, for at least 20 minutes to half an hour,” said William Perry, who lived next door to the apartment Sarmento shared with his parents. Carole Perry said Sarmento would climb a tree “like a monkey” and jab knives into it.

A friend, 19-year-old Paulette McAlpine, said she did not believe the accusations. McAlpine said Sarmento “was going to night school classes to get a high school diploma.” She added, “He wanted to get ahead.”

The offence

Sarmento was accused in the killings of two boys, Frankie Barnes and Jason Wolf, in Providence in 1987.

The authorities said Frankie disappeared Nov. 4 while riding his bicycle near his home. His body was found later with evidence of drowning and stab wounds. Jason disappeared Dec. 14 after his mother sent him out to retrieve the daily mail. His body was discovered one week later showing evidence of having been battered and sexually abused, according to police.

An anonymous note directed police to a location. Following the note's instructions, searchers found Frankie Barnes on the northern shoreline of Tongue Pond. His body was gashed by multiple stab wounds.

Police called on the suspect, and he suggested his name might have been used by an enemy, William Sarmento, who had recently tried to seduce the man's girlfriend.

Investigation

The investigation identified an anonymous note. Police were still puzzling over the case five days later when they received an anonymous note in the mail. The note read: “You will find the little boy by a wooden cross near Tongue Pond. I didn't want to do it. Satan ordered me to. I hope you will kill me, cops, because I don't know why I killed the children.”

An examination of the envelope revealed faint impressions of a man's name, followed by the phrase: “Catch me if you can, ha, ha, ha.”

Police named Sarmento as their primary suspect in two murders. Detectives held a press conference on December 29, 1987, naming Sarmento as their primary suspect in two murders.

Chief Mancuso said Sarmento became a suspect after writing a letter the police chief received the day after Christmas. The police chief declined comment on the contents, but the Providence Journal and WJAR-TV reported over the weekend that the author said Satan had ordered him to kill the two boys. The note reportedly said: “I hope you will kill me, cops, because I don't know why I killed the children.” It also said: “Keep boys and kids away from me.”

Arrest

Police arrested William Sarmento unarmed and without incident Tuesday afternoon, three hours after announcing that he was a murder suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt.

Later that day, Sarmento was seen ducking into a cellar and police were summoned to make the arrest.

Held without bond pending psychiatric evaluation, Sarmento was rumored to have confessed to both homicides. Sarmento was ordered held without bail at the State Institute of Mental Health until a Jan. 8 bail hearing.

Judge Francis Derigan of District Court ordered the defendant held without bail at the State Institute of Mental Health until a Jan. 8 bail hearing after Assistant Attorney General James Ryan cited the brutal nature of the murder of the two young boys.

In the brief arraignment, Sarmento appeared dazed and did not speak. He was to undergo psychiatric evaluation at the mental institution.

Timeline

• Nov. 4, 1987 — Nine-year-old Frankie Barnes was reported missing when he failed to return from a neighborhood bike ride in Providence.
• After Nov. 4, 1987 — Frankie Barnes’s bicycle was found two weeks later, concealed in tall grass near an abandoned brewery, less than a half-mile from his home.
• Dec. 14, 1987 — Six-year-old Jason Wolf vanished in Providence after his mother sent him out to retrieve the daily mail.
• Dec. 21, 1987 — Teenagers found Jason Wolf’s body two miles from home in some brush near Mashapaug Pond.
• Five days after Dec. 21, 1987 — Police received an anonymous note in the mail directing them to find Frankie Barnes by a wooden cross near Tongue Pond: I didn't want to do it. Satan ordered me to.
• Dec. 29, 1987 — Detectives held a press conference naming Sarmento as their primary suspect in two murders.
• Tuesday afternoon (after the Dec. 29, 1987 announcement) — Police arrested William Sarmento unarmed and without incident after a tip on his whereabouts.
• March 15, 1989 — Sarmento was found innocent because of insanity.
• 1989 — He was committed to a mental institution after a judge ruled incompetente committed to asylum.

Trial

Sarmento waived a jury trial.

A Superior Court judge decided the case on his own. In 1989, Sarmento was acquitted by the Superior Court judge.

The judge’s determination resulted in Sarmento being found innocent because of insanity on March 15, 1989.

Sentencing

Sarmento was confined indefinitely.

He was committed to the state Institute for Mental Health in Cranston. He was still confined in the forensic unit at Eleanor Slater Hospital.

Outcome

Sarmento was acquitted in 1989. The outcome was that he was found innocent because of insanity on March 15, 1989.

His disposition included a finding of incompetente committed to asylum in 1989.

Aftermath

Sarmento remained confined in the forsenic unit at Eleanor Slater Hospital.

A neighbor described him as dressed in fatigues and wielding a knife. Another neighbor described him stabbing a boarded-up house with a knife “for at least 20 minutes to half an hour,” and said he would climb a tree “like a monkey” and jab knives into it.

A friend said Sarmento “was going to night school classes to get a high school diploma” and that “He wanted to get ahead.”