State v. Williams

BLACKMAR, Judge.

This case presents a sordid tale of unrestrained and violent behavior. The defendant was charged with capital murder, § 565.001, RSMo 1978, and found guilty of murder in the second degree. § 565.004, RSMo 1978.

The deceased victim, Karen Hedges, had lived for a time in a trailer house with her two children and the defendant. She and her children then moved from defendant’s trailer into another trailer occupied by a couple named Hodkin and their children. On the evening of July 16, 1982, after Karen had moved, the defendant discovered that she had gone out with another man, and,…