October 11, 2024 • 12 mins
The provided text tells the story of John Williams Jr., a serial killer who terrorized Raleigh, North Carolina, in the mid-1990s. The episode details the murders of six black women, the investigation, and Williams’ arrest and conviction. It highlights the fear and concern that gripped the city as the body count rose and the relief that followed Williams’ capture. The text also explores the victims’ lives, including their struggles with addiction and prostitution, and their families' reactions to Williams' conviction. The article concludes by providing a summary of Williams' current status on death row.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Rully's Warehouse district. You say that, now you probably think
what trendy restaurants, bars, maybe a concerted at red hat Amphitheater.
But like, close your eyes for a second, rewind about
thirty years. We're going back to the late nineties when
this same spot it was all gritty streets, vacant buildings,
you know, and it was the backdrop for these murders,
(00:21):
a whole series of them that really shook the city.
So are you ready to do a deep dive into
some seriously chilling true crime.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
What always gets me about cases like this is how
they get under your skin. You know. It's not just
about who did it, but that feeling, that atmosphere of
dread that just takes over everything. And the source material
we've got these old news articles from back then. They
give us this raw, unfiltered look at how that fear
like took hold of the city.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, totally. It's like we're right there with them, reading
the headlines as they come out. Yeah, and this story
it starts well, the way these often do, with something
really tragic.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
That connects the victims and that common thread. It's tragic,
but it points to something we see a lot in
these cases serial killers, they often target people they see
as vulnerable, people who live on the edges of society,
who might not get as much attention from the public,
at least not right away.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Six black women murdered in Raleigh in ninety six. The
articles I shared, they mentioned drugs, sex work being part
of some of their lives, and while as part of
the story, we can't let those details overshadow the fact
that these were lives that were taken.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You're right, these were people with families, friends, coworkers. To
really get the impact of these crimes, we have to
see them as individuals.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
There are two cases especially that really stuck with me
as I was reading. First, there's Patricia ash found murdered
January of ninety six. They found her body on a bench,
and man, even reading these reports now years later, it's
still so brutal, the way your body was left, the
signs of a struggle. Can you imagine being the one
who found her.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It's a chilling thought, that discovery. It must have been
a turning point in the investigation that first victim. It
often reveals the killer's m O, their signature. Those details,
as awful as they they are, they become crucial clues.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
And then there's Debora Jean Elliott her disappearance right before
Christmas ninety six. That one really hit the community hard. Deborrah,
she was a hard worker, had a job at McDonald's,
three kids, getting ready for the holidays, but instead of
celebrating with her family, she her body was found at
that old Pine State creamerybuilding. That place is a popular
restaurant now, but back then it was a crime scene.
(02:24):
And reading what her coworkers said about her, how kind
she was, how she was friends with everyone, it just
hits you in the gut. You know, the human cost
of these crimes.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
It's that contrast that's so important Debra's life. It challenges
the stereotypes people might have. She was a mother, a coworker,
a friend, someone who has loved, who people wanted to
see again. Her murder made it real for everyone. It
showed that anyone could become a target.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Did the articles say if the police thought these cases
were connected right away or was there a while where
they weren't sure if it was one.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Guy or there was a lot of uncertainty at first,
and that unknown not having a face to the evil
lurking around. That's what really gets to people. It eats
away at a community.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Oh yeah. The articles definitely capture that feeling that something
was wrong. People in walnut Terrace, where some of the
victims lived, they talked about being scared to even leave
their homes. One resident, Sharon McLean, she said something like,
it's just fear in my.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Heart, and that fear is completely understandable. It's a natural
reaction when you feel threatened, when you know someone out
there is capable of such horrible things.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Right, and with every new victim, every unanswered question, that
fear just grows, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Absolutely, The unknown creates anxiety, and in these kinds of cases,
it's not just about catching the killer, but also about
restoring a sense of safety, helping people believe that the
world isn't inherently a dangerous and unpredictable place.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
With the whole city on edge like that, the pressure
on the police must been immense. What do they do?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
They put everything they had into it. Fifty four investigators,
they ramped up patrols, you name it. Chief Brown was
all over the news trying to reassure people that they
were doing everything they could catch this guy.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
They're looking into similar crimes in other places too, right,
like they thought this might be bigger than just Raleigh.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
That's right. The articles mention that. Imagine what it was
like for them trying to track down this killer. It
must have felt like chasing a ghost. And with every
dead end that fear in the city, it just kept growing.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And you know, like in those true crime documentaries we
all love, sometimes these big investigations, they all hand on
one lucky break, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's like fate steps in something that seems small, totally random,
ends up unraveling this whole thing.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And let me tell you they caught a break in
this case. February ninety seven, months after Deborah Elliott's murder,
a woman named Shelley Jackson. She has this encounter could
have been another tragedy, but instead it blows the whole
case wide open.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
See this is what we were talking about before, that
pattern for these kinds of predators, opportunity, It often leads
to more violence. One horrible act leads to the next.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, so picture this. Shelley Jackson's at this convenience store
right near Moore Square. Today that area's pretty busy, but
back then probably kind of deserted. After dark. She meets
this guy, John Williams Junior for the first time. He
offers her drugs, tries to lure her to an abandoned lot.
They get into this beat up truck he's driving, and well,
that's when everything goes wrong.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
That location it's important, you know. It suggests he was
thinking ahead, deliberately picking these isolated places where a victim
wouldn't be found, nobody could hear her cries for help.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
It's crazy some of the details from these articles. They
really suck with me. That ask store, the abandoned lot,
the old truck. It's like, suddenly they're not just places,
you know, They're part of this whole dark story.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
They become like characters in a way, these rundown places,
silently witnessing these awful acts.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Okay, so Jackson's trapped in that truck with Williams fighting
him off, hurt. Then and this is like something out
of a movie. A police car just randomly driving by.
She sees her chance, breaks free, runs towards the car, screaming,
covered in blood. Talk about being in the right place
at the right time, And we can't.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Forget about Sergeant Earnhardt, the officer in that car. He
was alert, hurt her cries, didn't ignore them, acted quickly,
that split second decision. It probably saved her life totally.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
And once Williams is in custody, things start to move fast.
They have Jackson's statement, physical evidence, the box cutter blood Williams.
They say he's this thirty five year old drifter from Augusta,
Georgia originally, and it's crazy right Jackson's attack. As awful
as it was, it ends up being the break they
needed to get justice for those other women.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
It was like a damn breaking that arrest. It seemed
to give other people the courage to come forward with
their own stories. You see this a lot in these cases.
The first arrest can have a domino effect.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
A month later, March ninety seven, they officially charged Williams
with Patricia Ash's murder. They matched his shoeprint found on
some broken glass at the scene, then the DNA evidence
from her autoxy It's undeniable.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Science doesn't lie in cases like this where witnesses might
be you know, not reliable, or there aren't many forensic evidence,
it becomes the foundation the whole case. Did they say
how long it took to connect Williams to Deborah Elliott's
murder not long at all.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Remember how I mentioned they found her body at that
old Pine Steek creamery. They found more of William's shoe
prints there too, and with witnesses other evidence, they had
enough to charge him with her murder as well.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
This is where criminal profiling it would have been really key,
you know, looking at those crime scenes, why those specific victims,
trying to find any patterns on the way he attacked them.
It helps investigators understand the why, not just the what.
Did they talk about any psychological evaluations of Williams in
the articles.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
They didn't go into a ton of detail about his past,
but they said investigators thought he was targeting women he
met downtown, luring them to these secluded spots where he
felt safe doing these horrible things. They even thought he
might be involved in the murders of two other women,
Don Grandy and Jawana Burt, but they never had enough
evidence to charge.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Him, leaving those families with no answers, no real closure.
That's got to be one of the hardest things.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
That's truly heartbreaking, you know, and it reminds us that
even when a case seems solved, there are always loose ends,
what ifs, and those questions they stay with you long
after the trial's over.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Because for the families, it's not just about the legal stuff.
It's about trying to make sense of this horrible thing
that happened, losing someone they loved in such a terrible way.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
So let's talk about the trial. It all went down
in ninety eight knowing they could give him the death penalty.
Did that change how the lawyers on both sides approached
the trial.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Oh yeah, for sure. When the death penalty is on
the table, it changes everything. It adds this whole other
level of seriousness. Every decision, every word matters so much more.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
So, Like, take us inside the courtroom, knowing someone's life
is on the line. How does that change the strategy
for both sides.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, you've got the prosecution right, they have to be
extra thorough. It's not enough to just prove guilt. They
have to convince the jury that this crime it deserves
the absolute harshest punishment. They have to make it clear
this isn't just about revenge. It's about keeping society safe.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And for the defense, it's got to be tough. How
do you make someone accused of these horrific acts seem human,
relatable without excusing what they did exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It's a fine line. They'll often dig into the defendant's past,
looking for anything that might make the jury feel some
kind of sympathy, some understanding, not to justify the actions,
but to explain, you know, how someone gets to that point.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Did they find anything in John Williams Junior's past that
gave them any insight into his motives or what was
going on in his head.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
They did. His lawyers. They presented evidence that he had
a really rough childhood, people who knew him. They said
he saw his stepfather abusing his sister when he was young.
Imagine the trauma of that.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Hearing things like that. It really makes you think about
like the ripple effects of violence, how witnessing something that
awful can really mess you up.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
It's this horrible cycle trauma. It creates more trauma. But
presenting that kind of defense in a case like this,
so high profile people are so angry, it's a huge risk.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Because even if trauma explains why he did, it doesn't
excuse it.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Not really, you're right, and some people reading those articles
they felt like Williams's behavior at the trial kind of
went against this whole troubled past thing. His lawyers were.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Going for, Oh really, what did he do? What was
it about him in the courtroom that rubbed people the
wrong way?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Several articles mentioned how restless he was, how he would
like grin sometimes it completely inappropriate moments, chilling honestly, and
for the victims' families, you know, having to sit there
relive everything while he's doing that must have been unbearable.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
I can't imagine what it would be like to be
like Deborah Elliott's sister listening to all the awful detail,
seeing this guy, the one who did it, and he's
acting like it's nothing. It's just awful.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, their pain. It's a reminder that, Yeah, the justice
system it tries to provide closure, but true healing that's
a whole other thing.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So what was the verdict? Guilty on all charges?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Guilty? Weeks of testimony, the jury found Williams guilty of
two counts of first degree murder Patricia ash and debor
Jean Elliott, and the assault on Shilley Jackson a bunch
of other charges too.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I mean, the brutality the evidence they had sounds like
a slam dunk for the prosecution.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
It was and ultimately the jury they decided to convict
not just because the evidence was there, but also because
they needed to hold him accountable for what he did.
It was about sending a message. They sentenced him to death. Wow,
and as of this year, he's still on death row
at Central Prison right here in Raleigh's.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Kind of a creepy thought. Yeah, he's still out there.
A reminder that some things you never really get over them,
which brings us back to where we started write. The
warehouse district, all those restaurants in our galleries.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Now it's almost like the cities trying to move on,
cover up the bad memories with shiny new buildings. But
the past it has a way of sticking around.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Yeah, it does. Those cobblestone streets, all those renovated buildings.
Even when you're out there having a good time, there's
this echo of what happened, the lives that were lost,
the families forever changed by it, and that fear that
gripped the city.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
It makes you think the places we live, they're more
than just buildings, right, They hold all these stories, some happy,
some tragic. We can't change the past, but we can
learn from it. Remembering those we've lost telling their stories.
That's how we make sure they aren't forgotten.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
This deep dive into Raleigh's dark side. It's been fascinating
but really heavy too. Thanks for coming along with me
and everyone listening. The next time you're in the Warehouse district,
take a minute to think about Patricia Ash and deborg
and Elliott. There are stories. They're part of Roley's story,
and they deserve to be remembered.
Rully's Warehouse district. You say that, now you probably think
what trendy restaurants, bars, maybe a concerted at red hat Amphitheater.
But like, close your eyes for a second, rewind about
thirty years. We're going back to the late nineties when
this same spot it was all gritty streets, vacant buildings,
you know, and it was the backdrop for these murders,
(00:21):
a whole series of them that really shook the city.
So are you ready to do a deep dive into
some seriously chilling true crime.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
What always gets me about cases like this is how
they get under your skin. You know. It's not just
about who did it, but that feeling, that atmosphere of
dread that just takes over everything. And the source material
we've got these old news articles from back then. They
give us this raw, unfiltered look at how that fear
like took hold of the city.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, totally. It's like we're right there with them, reading
the headlines as they come out. Yeah, and this story
it starts well, the way these often do, with something
really tragic.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
That connects the victims and that common thread. It's tragic,
but it points to something we see a lot in
these cases serial killers, they often target people they see
as vulnerable, people who live on the edges of society,
who might not get as much attention from the public,
at least not right away.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Six black women murdered in Raleigh in ninety six. The
articles I shared, they mentioned drugs, sex work being part
of some of their lives, and while as part of
the story, we can't let those details overshadow the fact
that these were lives that were taken.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You're right, these were people with families, friends, coworkers. To
really get the impact of these crimes, we have to
see them as individuals.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
There are two cases especially that really stuck with me
as I was reading. First, there's Patricia ash found murdered
January of ninety six. They found her body on a bench,
and man, even reading these reports now years later, it's
still so brutal, the way your body was left, the
signs of a struggle. Can you imagine being the one
who found her.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It's a chilling thought, that discovery. It must have been
a turning point in the investigation that first victim. It
often reveals the killer's m O, their signature. Those details,
as awful as they they are, they become crucial clues.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
And then there's Debora Jean Elliott her disappearance right before
Christmas ninety six. That one really hit the community hard. Deborrah,
she was a hard worker, had a job at McDonald's,
three kids, getting ready for the holidays, but instead of
celebrating with her family, she her body was found at
that old Pine State creamerybuilding. That place is a popular
restaurant now, but back then it was a crime scene.
(02:24):
And reading what her coworkers said about her, how kind
she was, how she was friends with everyone, it just
hits you in the gut. You know, the human cost
of these crimes.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
It's that contrast that's so important Debra's life. It challenges
the stereotypes people might have. She was a mother, a coworker,
a friend, someone who has loved, who people wanted to
see again. Her murder made it real for everyone. It
showed that anyone could become a target.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Did the articles say if the police thought these cases
were connected right away or was there a while where
they weren't sure if it was one.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Guy or there was a lot of uncertainty at first,
and that unknown not having a face to the evil
lurking around. That's what really gets to people. It eats
away at a community.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Oh yeah. The articles definitely capture that feeling that something
was wrong. People in walnut Terrace, where some of the
victims lived, they talked about being scared to even leave
their homes. One resident, Sharon McLean, she said something like,
it's just fear in my.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Heart, and that fear is completely understandable. It's a natural
reaction when you feel threatened, when you know someone out
there is capable of such horrible things.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Right, and with every new victim, every unanswered question, that
fear just grows, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Absolutely, The unknown creates anxiety, and in these kinds of cases,
it's not just about catching the killer, but also about
restoring a sense of safety, helping people believe that the
world isn't inherently a dangerous and unpredictable place.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
With the whole city on edge like that, the pressure
on the police must been immense. What do they do?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
They put everything they had into it. Fifty four investigators,
they ramped up patrols, you name it. Chief Brown was
all over the news trying to reassure people that they
were doing everything they could catch this guy.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
They're looking into similar crimes in other places too, right,
like they thought this might be bigger than just Raleigh.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
That's right. The articles mention that. Imagine what it was
like for them trying to track down this killer. It
must have felt like chasing a ghost. And with every
dead end that fear in the city, it just kept growing.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And you know, like in those true crime documentaries we
all love, sometimes these big investigations, they all hand on
one lucky break, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's like fate steps in something that seems small, totally random,
ends up unraveling this whole thing.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And let me tell you they caught a break in
this case. February ninety seven, months after Deborah Elliott's murder,
a woman named Shelley Jackson. She has this encounter could
have been another tragedy, but instead it blows the whole
case wide open.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
See this is what we were talking about before, that
pattern for these kinds of predators, opportunity, It often leads
to more violence. One horrible act leads to the next.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, so picture this. Shelley Jackson's at this convenience store
right near Moore Square. Today that area's pretty busy, but
back then probably kind of deserted. After dark. She meets
this guy, John Williams Junior for the first time. He
offers her drugs, tries to lure her to an abandoned lot.
They get into this beat up truck he's driving, and well,
that's when everything goes wrong.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
That location it's important, you know. It suggests he was
thinking ahead, deliberately picking these isolated places where a victim
wouldn't be found, nobody could hear her cries for help.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
It's crazy some of the details from these articles. They
really suck with me. That ask store, the abandoned lot,
the old truck. It's like, suddenly they're not just places,
you know, They're part of this whole dark story.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
They become like characters in a way, these rundown places,
silently witnessing these awful acts.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Okay, so Jackson's trapped in that truck with Williams fighting
him off, hurt. Then and this is like something out
of a movie. A police car just randomly driving by.
She sees her chance, breaks free, runs towards the car, screaming,
covered in blood. Talk about being in the right place
at the right time, And we can't.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Forget about Sergeant Earnhardt, the officer in that car. He
was alert, hurt her cries, didn't ignore them, acted quickly,
that split second decision. It probably saved her life totally.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
And once Williams is in custody, things start to move fast.
They have Jackson's statement, physical evidence, the box cutter blood Williams.
They say he's this thirty five year old drifter from Augusta,
Georgia originally, and it's crazy right Jackson's attack. As awful
as it was, it ends up being the break they
needed to get justice for those other women.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
It was like a damn breaking that arrest. It seemed
to give other people the courage to come forward with
their own stories. You see this a lot in these cases.
The first arrest can have a domino effect.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
A month later, March ninety seven, they officially charged Williams
with Patricia Ash's murder. They matched his shoeprint found on
some broken glass at the scene, then the DNA evidence
from her autoxy It's undeniable.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Science doesn't lie in cases like this where witnesses might
be you know, not reliable, or there aren't many forensic evidence,
it becomes the foundation the whole case. Did they say
how long it took to connect Williams to Deborah Elliott's
murder not long at all.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Remember how I mentioned they found her body at that
old Pine Steek creamery. They found more of William's shoe
prints there too, and with witnesses other evidence, they had
enough to charge him with her murder as well.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
This is where criminal profiling it would have been really key,
you know, looking at those crime scenes, why those specific victims,
trying to find any patterns on the way he attacked them.
It helps investigators understand the why, not just the what.
Did they talk about any psychological evaluations of Williams in
the articles.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
They didn't go into a ton of detail about his past,
but they said investigators thought he was targeting women he
met downtown, luring them to these secluded spots where he
felt safe doing these horrible things. They even thought he
might be involved in the murders of two other women,
Don Grandy and Jawana Burt, but they never had enough
evidence to charge.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Him, leaving those families with no answers, no real closure.
That's got to be one of the hardest things.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
That's truly heartbreaking, you know, and it reminds us that
even when a case seems solved, there are always loose ends,
what ifs, and those questions they stay with you long
after the trial's over.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Because for the families, it's not just about the legal stuff.
It's about trying to make sense of this horrible thing
that happened, losing someone they loved in such a terrible way.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
So let's talk about the trial. It all went down
in ninety eight knowing they could give him the death penalty.
Did that change how the lawyers on both sides approached
the trial.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Oh yeah, for sure. When the death penalty is on
the table, it changes everything. It adds this whole other
level of seriousness. Every decision, every word matters so much more.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
So, Like, take us inside the courtroom, knowing someone's life
is on the line. How does that change the strategy
for both sides.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, you've got the prosecution right, they have to be
extra thorough. It's not enough to just prove guilt. They
have to convince the jury that this crime it deserves
the absolute harshest punishment. They have to make it clear
this isn't just about revenge. It's about keeping society safe.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And for the defense, it's got to be tough. How
do you make someone accused of these horrific acts seem human,
relatable without excusing what they did exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It's a fine line. They'll often dig into the defendant's past,
looking for anything that might make the jury feel some
kind of sympathy, some understanding, not to justify the actions,
but to explain, you know, how someone gets to that point.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Did they find anything in John Williams Junior's past that
gave them any insight into his motives or what was
going on in his head.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
They did. His lawyers. They presented evidence that he had
a really rough childhood, people who knew him. They said
he saw his stepfather abusing his sister when he was young.
Imagine the trauma of that.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Hearing things like that. It really makes you think about
like the ripple effects of violence, how witnessing something that
awful can really mess you up.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
It's this horrible cycle trauma. It creates more trauma. But
presenting that kind of defense in a case like this,
so high profile people are so angry, it's a huge risk.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Because even if trauma explains why he did, it doesn't
excuse it.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Not really, you're right, and some people reading those articles
they felt like Williams's behavior at the trial kind of
went against this whole troubled past thing. His lawyers were.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Going for, Oh really, what did he do? What was
it about him in the courtroom that rubbed people the
wrong way?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Several articles mentioned how restless he was, how he would
like grin sometimes it completely inappropriate moments, chilling honestly, and
for the victims' families, you know, having to sit there
relive everything while he's doing that must have been unbearable.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
I can't imagine what it would be like to be
like Deborah Elliott's sister listening to all the awful detail,
seeing this guy, the one who did it, and he's
acting like it's nothing. It's just awful.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, their pain. It's a reminder that, Yeah, the justice
system it tries to provide closure, but true healing that's
a whole other thing.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So what was the verdict? Guilty on all charges?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Guilty? Weeks of testimony, the jury found Williams guilty of
two counts of first degree murder Patricia ash and debor
Jean Elliott, and the assault on Shilley Jackson a bunch
of other charges too.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
I mean, the brutality the evidence they had sounds like
a slam dunk for the prosecution.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
It was and ultimately the jury they decided to convict
not just because the evidence was there, but also because
they needed to hold him accountable for what he did.
It was about sending a message. They sentenced him to death. Wow,
and as of this year, he's still on death row
at Central Prison right here in Raleigh's.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Kind of a creepy thought. Yeah, he's still out there.
A reminder that some things you never really get over them,
which brings us back to where we started write. The
warehouse district, all those restaurants in our galleries.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Now it's almost like the cities trying to move on,
cover up the bad memories with shiny new buildings. But
the past it has a way of sticking around.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Yeah, it does. Those cobblestone streets, all those renovated buildings.
Even when you're out there having a good time, there's
this echo of what happened, the lives that were lost,
the families forever changed by it, and that fear that
gripped the city.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
It makes you think the places we live, they're more
than just buildings, right, They hold all these stories, some happy,
some tragic. We can't change the past, but we can
learn from it. Remembering those we've lost telling their stories.
That's how we make sure they aren't forgotten.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
This deep dive into Raleigh's dark side. It's been fascinating
but really heavy too. Thanks for coming along with me
and everyone listening. The next time you're in the Warehouse district,
take a minute to think about Patricia Ash and deborg
and Elliott. There are stories. They're part of Roley's story,
and they deserve to be remembered.
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