A man who previously pleaded guilty for the murder of a five-year-old Phenix City girl has now been found guilty by a jury in Russell County.
Jeremy Tremaine Williams was found guilty on capital murder charges involving the death of Kamarie Holland, who was killed on Dec. 13, 2021, after being raped and strangled by Williams. Williams had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
However, Alabama law dictates that a case carrying the death penalty cannot be resolved by pleading guilty.
He was found guilty of the following:
Capital murder for the death of a child under the age of 14.
Capital murder for killing her in course of kidnapping.
Capital murder for killing her while committing first-degree rape.
Capital murder for killing her while committing first-degree sodomy.
The court will determine in a separate hearing Monday if Williams should be executed as a result of this case.
Over the past few days the jury was shown video evidence of Holland’s sexual abuse by Williams and the response of CPD officers who found Holland’s body.
Friday morning began with the testimony of someone claiming to be a former victim of Williams. The individual was 5-years-old at the time, the same age Holland was when she was sexually abused, tied up with rope, and strangled by Williams.
The witness began to cry as she testified about the abuse she said she endured.
After her testimony a short recess was taken before closing arguments began.
Assistant District Attorney for Russell County, Malory Hatfield, said the prosecution met all requirements to prove the charges against Williams beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hatfield told the jury, “This angel baby didn’t deserve this.”
She ended her arguments by saying, “Find this man guilty.”
One of Williams’ attorneys, Charles “Chuck” Floyd III, stood up to give closing arguments.
He began by saying it’s been a long week and thanked the jury for their attention. Floyd said Williams didn’t want the jury to have to be there and pointed out how his client had previously plead guilty to the charges he was standing trial for.
Floyd said he didn’t understand the Alabama statute requiring someone to stand trial after pleading guilty until he began asking questions of potential jurors.
He said a question was asked on whether potential jurors believed a person would plead guilty when they weren’t and he saw hands were raised.
Floyd asked jurors to go through all of the evidence and to prove the state proved all elements of the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Russell County District Attorney Rick Chancey said he’ll never forget the call he received of Holland’s death.
The caller said, “Hey man, are you ready?”
Chancey would later say he wasn’t ready for what came.
Chancey said he deliberated which videos of Holland’s assault to show and said they added 15 people who will forever be unable to unsee the images from the video of Holland’s assault. He apologized to the member of the jury for that.
As Chancey continued with his closing arguments he would begin to shed tears and his voice would begin to crack and become weak in some instances.
Chancey said he couldn’t come up with a word to describe Williams but said “guilty” would suffice for that day.
He told the jury they can rest assured that Williams is guilty.
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