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The man accused of killing two people in a Seattle apartment was released from jail days before the brutal murder, KOMO reports.
John Marcel Williams, 42, was arrested Sunday (October 30) afternoon after Seattle Police found a 53-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman dead inside an apartment on the 6100 block of 4th Ave S. in Georgetown. Officers reportedly arrested the bloodied suspect within walking distance of the crime scene.
The victims, later identified as Maryanne Wooden and Howard Hicks in court documents, were stabbed nearly 160 times, according to prosecutors.
Surveillance video shows Williams walking toward the apartment with Wooden “then leaving the apartment and appears to have blood on his hands," per records obtained by reporters. A neighbor reportedly called 911 after finding the victims inside the apartment.
“I went down there, the door was open, I just looked, I saw somebody on the floor,” John Terhofter, who lives nearby, told KOMO. “Maryanne was a good friend of mine, caring person, really caring. It’s sad.”
Reporters revealed that Williams just finished a jail sentence on Friday (October 28) before the shocking murder later that weekend. He pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to 56 days in jail with credit for time served. The Seattle City Attorney’s Office struck a plea agreement with Williams, where he serves 60 days with the rest of his nearly year-long sentence suspended for 24 months.
The murder suspect also had a lengthy criminal history before moving to Washington state this year. He wracked up at least 65 arrests in California, including both felony and misdemeanor cases, according to Casey McNerthney, the Director of Communications for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
Since his move to the Evergreen State, Williams has been arrested for attempted rape, property destruction, vehicle prowling, unlawful use of weapons, and misdemeanor assault. He's currently under investigation for the attempted rape charge.
Williams, who's currently booked in King County Jail, didn't show up to his court Tuesday afternoon (November 1). McNerthney said a judge found probable cause for two counts of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement.