Willie C. Williams Jr. knew he was going to die.
The inmate who was stabbed to death over the weekend at the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup told family members several times recently that his life was on the line.
“He kept saying it was going to happen,” a family member told The Examiner on Monday. “He kept saying that someone wanted to kill him.”
Williams? death, which occurred Friday evening, is being investigated as a homicide, state corrections authorities said.
Williams, who was serving a 10-year sentence for credit card fraud, was separated from the general prison population, according to Mark Vernarelli, a prison spokesman.
According to sources close to the investigation, Williams, 34, of Baltimore, who was known as “Little Will,” was found gagged and stabbed to death. A guard found Williams at 10:35 p.m. May 12 alone in his cell with two puncture wounds and tape loosely wrapped around his neck, said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the prison.
Family members said they contacted prison authorities based on William?s fears, resulting in his removal from the general population.
“I was scared that one day we were going to get this news,” a family member said. “He told me he received death threats, that someone said they were going to cut out his eyeballs.”
Doggett said she could not confirm that Williams feared for his life or that his family contacted prison officials about such concerns.
“I have no information to suggest that is an accurate statement,”
she said.
The family said they heard about the killing from another prisoner, who called Saturday. She said prison officials told her the chaplain was supposed to call her, but she has not heard from them. “The family is very upset,” she said.
In 2000, Williams was convicted in Carroll County Circuit Court of credit card theft, theft of more $300, second-degree burglary and malicious destruction of property. The same year, he was convicted in Howard County of attempted theft, according to court documents.
In 1999, he was convicted in District Court in Towson of making a false statement to police. In 1996, Williams was convicted in District Court in Rockville of making a false statement to an officer and stealing more than $300, court documents state.
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