LONGTIME SUSPECT FINALLY CONVICTED IN CONNECTICUT DOUBLE-HOMICIDE FROM 1987
McFarland was sentenced to 60 years for each of the murders, terms that are to be served consecutively, according to a statement by New Haven State Attorney John P. Doyle Jr. The father and son were found bound and with their throats slashed in their Hamden, Connecticut, home in 1987.
Willie McFarland of New Haven, Connecticut, was sentenced to 120 years in prison for the 1987 murders of Fred and Greg Harris (Hamden Police Department via AP, File)
In handing down the sentence, Judge Elpedio N. Vitale called McFarland "an unqualified menace to society."
SUSPECT IN WISCONSIN DOUBLE HOMICIDE ARRESTED IN ARKANSAS
McFarland quickly became a suspect and was questioned soon after the killings. But for years, authorities had no physical evidence linking him to the crime. They continued to look, conducting DNA testing around 2006 and again in 2018.
McFarland was arrested in 2019.
"After 35 years, the man responsible for the murder of a father and son, in their own home, has been brought to justice," Doyle said.