Murder trial for slain Oak Cliff woman started this week

(Tingey Injury Law Firm/Unsplash)

By Madelyn Edwards

(DALLAS) The murder trial regarding the death of Sheila Denise Prater started on Tuesday, The Dallas Morning News reports. 

Victor Williams, 51, is accused of fatally shooting Prater, 45, in her southeast Oak Cliff home in 2019. 

Jurors listened to the emotional 911 call made by the victim’s son, Travonte Prater, who found his mother’s dead body. On the phone call, Prater said he was convinced that Williams killed his mother. 

Williams denies that claim, and his lawyer argued that there isn’t enough evidence for a conviction. 

Sheila Prater and Williams dated sporadically, and she was last seen with him at a Cheddar’s restaurant a day before her body was found. She texted her friends previously that she was suspicious of Williams, saying, “If anything ever happens to me Victor Lenord Williams… did it. He said he has nothing to lose.”

Williams’ lawyer, Wayne Lacy, told the court that one of Sheila Prater’s ex-husbands had been accused of pointing a gun at her the year before she died. That same man was still married to Prater when she died, though they had filed for divorce, and he sought a life insurance policy for her a year after she died. 

Williams’ trial is expected to last longer than a week, and if Williams is convicted, he could be sentenced to prison time anywhere between 15 years and life.

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