Missouri Man Accused Of Murdering Friend Suspected Of Molesting Shooter’s 3-Year-Old Relative

Thirty-four-year-old Anton Lee Williams has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting a man on May 31. He had been told that the man had molested a 3-year-old who is related to Williams. In addition to murder charges, Williams faces one charge of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm according to a report from FourStates Homepage.

The man Williams is accused of murdering is 55-year-old Derrick E. Williams. Police believe that the two were family and had a close relationship. When they arrived on the scene, officers found Derrick Williams on the floor bleeding from a gunshot wound to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The St. Louis Dispatch reports that investigators spoke with Anton Williams by phone on the afternoon of May 31. During that call, he acknowledged that he heard the molestation accusations against Derrick but said he was not aware of his death.

In the course of trying piece together the events leading up to the shooting death of Derrick Williams, police learned that Anton Williams learned of the molestation charges against Derrick on May 30. Anton was described as “distraught and angry” when he learned the news. It’s believed that the alleged molestation took place while Derrick was living with the family of the 3-year-old.

A St. Louis man was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday after police said he shot and killed a man shortly after learning the man allegedly molested a 3-year-old relative of the shooter. #arrest #KSN16 https://t.co/Qt5UC7kRgI

— KSN Local News (@KSNLocalNews) June 7, 2018

Police discovered phone records that show two phone calls from Anton to Derrick after 10 p.m. on May 30. They also report having video surveillance that shows a man who looks like Anton Williams near the crime scene around 8:30 a.m. on May 31, the time it’s believed the murder was committed. Detective Michael Herzberg wrote in the charges that when they discovered a shotgun hidden in the rafters of his basement and pulled it out, “A child of the defendant saw my partner holding the shotgun and blurted, ‘That’s my daddy’s shotgun.'”

Anton Lee Williams has two charges in his criminal history. The earliest one was in 2002 when he was found guilty of assaulting a law enforcement officer and unlawful use of a weapon. The latter crime resulted in Williams being forbidden from owning a firearm. The most recent criminal event on his record prior to the murder charge happened in 2016. That conviction was for possession of drugs.

Charges were filed against Anton Williams on Wednesday, June 6. He’s being held on an $800,000 cash-only bond.