Massachusetts prosecutors have identified Kevin Lino, 38, of Lowell as an alleged serial killer after linking him to multiple deaths of men experiencing homelessness. Lino is serving sentences for murders in 2012 and 2014 and was charged in August with two additional homicides from 2010 and 2012. Authorities allege one victim was beaten to death with a baseball bat and another was given a fatal heroin "hot shot." Investigations continue and officials say there may be more victims.
Authorities Identify Lowell Man as Alleged Serial Killer Linked to Multiple Deaths of People Experiencing Homelessness
Massachusetts prosecutors have identified Kevin Lino, 38, of Lowell as an alleged serial killer after linking him to multiple deaths of men experiencing homelessness. Lino is serving sentences for murders in 2012 and 2014 and was charged in August with two additional homicides from 2010 and 2012. Authorities allege one victim was beaten to death with a baseball bat and another was given a fatal heroin "hot shot." Investigations continue and officials say there may be more victims.
04:38 AM, 11/21/2025Society
Massachusetts prosecutors have identified 38-year-old Kevin Lino of Lowell as an alleged serial killer after linking him to multiple deaths of men experiencing homelessness across several years.
Lino is currently serving prison sentences for two earlier murders: the 2012 killing of Normand Varieur in Boston and the 2014 slaying of Jack Gilbert Berry in Missoula, Montana. In August, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office announced new murder charges in connection with two additional deaths that occurred in Massachusetts in 2010 and 2012.
“Mr. Lino is a serial killer,” said Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, noting that the Department of Justice defines a serial killer as someone who has taken the lives of two or more people in separate incidents.
Prosecutors allege that in 2010, when Lino was about 23, he beat 54-year-old Gary Melanson to death with a metal baseball bat at a homeless encampment in Lowell after disputes over Melanson lighting fires to stay warm. Investigators say Lino objected to the fires because he feared drawing attention from police and firefighters, then attacked Melanson, who was smaller and older.
Authorities also say investigators later connected Lino to the 2012 death of 30-year-old Douglas Leon Clarke in Cambridge. Clarke’s death was initially classified as an accidental overdose from a mixture of drugs including morphine, codeine, ethanol and gabapentin. Prosecutors allege that Lino — who had been living in the same encampment near the Harvard Square MBTA station and reportedly had tried to drive heroin users away — intentionally administered a fatal dose of heroin, a so-called "hot shot."
Officials say there may be additional victims under investigation. Prosecutors emphasized that, based on current information, Lino is not believed to be connected to an unrelated string of remains discovered across New England earlier this year; those discoveries remain under separate inquiries and some have been ruled non-suspicious.
The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office continues to investigate the newly charged cases and has asked anyone with information to contact prosecutors or local law enforcement.
Timeline (summary)
2010: Alleged killing of Gary Melanson in Lowell.
2012: Conviction for the killing of Normand Varieur in Boston; investigators later link Lino to the death of Douglas Leon Clarke in Cambridge.
2014: Conviction in the killing of Jack Gilbert Berry in Missoula, Montana.
2024/2025: New charges announced in August tying Lino to the 2010 and 2012 Massachusetts deaths; investigation ongoing.