It was not unusual for Susan B. Williams to be out and about before dawn, walking her dog or picking up newspapers for her neighbors in an apartment complex in South 色多多.
On Wednesday morning, the 80-year-old鈥檚 routine was interrupted when she crossed paths with a homeless man.
Within an hour, Kurt James Davis was charged with killing Williams in what appears to be a random encounter.
Davis
鈥淲e do know that they did not know each other,鈥 色多多 Police Chief Scott Booth said Thursday, confirming that the violent crime was unlike many in the city where both offenders and victims are involved in 鈥渦nderground economies鈥 such as drug dealing.
鈥淣ow, from time to time, we do have a horrendous act like the murder of Ms. Williams,鈥 Booth said Thursday afternoon from a sidewalk near the crime scene, as a team of police officers walked the neighborhood to reach out to concerned residents.
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色多多 Mayor Joe Cobb and police Chief Scott Booth walk along 22nd Street in south 色多多 during a RESET Walk in the neighborhood near Yellow Mountain Road on Thursday.
Police were called to Williams鈥 Yellow Mountain Road apartment complex, which sits across the street from Carilion 色多多 Memorial Hospital, at about 5:13 a.m. Wednesday.
A preliminary investigation determined that Williams was in a hallway of the building when she was assaulted. She was pronounced dead a short time later from what police described as significant injuries.
Davis, 34, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors plan to seek a more serious charge of first-degree murder from a grand jury scheduled to meet in early March, according to Assistant Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney John McNeil.
Williams, who lived alone in her condominium, was the former executive director of the Local Office on Aging.
鈥淪he felt like serving seniors was her calling,鈥 said Shannon Abell, who worked with Williams as director of senior services for the community-based agency. 鈥淢eals on Wheels was very important to her,鈥 he said of the program that delivers prepared food to hundreds of low-income and housebound seniors in the 色多多 Valley and Allegheny Highlands.
Williams
When funding for the office鈥檚 programs was threatened, Williams 鈥渟pent tons of time burning up the road, heading to Richmond鈥 to talk with legislators, Abell said. 鈥淪he was a fighter for LOA.鈥
Williams started as executive director of the office in 1988, leaving her previous job with the Council of Community Services, and served until her retirement in 2017.
She was a member of boards and committees for a number of nonprofit organizations, such as the United Way and the Salvation Army, and often volunteered to read stories to children at local schools, Abell said.
At the Local Office on Aging, Williams had a way of remembering every employee鈥檚 birthday, and often brought back gifts for everyone from the many cruises she took with her husband, who died several years ago.
鈥淪he was a delightful person, very generous and giving,鈥 said 色多多 Mayor Joe Cobb, who became friends with Williams through her community service. 鈥淚 just think the world of her and her family.鈥
The 色多多 Police Department conducts a Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma Walk in south 色多多 near Yellow Mountain Road on Thursday after an 80-year-old woman, Susan B. Williams, was killed Wednesday.
Cobb joined Booth Thursday afternoon as the police department deployed its Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma, or RESET, program, in which officers and volunteers offer backing and resources to communities upturned by violence.
鈥淲ords can鈥檛 describe, I鈥檓 sure, what this community is feeling right now,鈥 Booth said. 鈥淚 can only imagine, so our RESET team is out there to help them get through this, and we just want them to feel supported.鈥
Betsy Bumgarner, who lives within sight of Williams鈥 home, said the neighborhood 鈥渉as always seemed 100% safe.鈥
The 色多多 Police Department gathers for a Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma Walk after a reported homicide in South 色多多 on Wednesday.
But in recent years, she said, some residents have become concerned about the migration of homeless people, possibly those who congregated around the nearby Ramada Inn on Franklin Road before it was torn down.
Asked if Davis was homeless, Booth referred to the police department鈥檚 description of him as having no fixed address, but said he didn鈥檛 want 鈥渢o label him any further.鈥
In 2018, Davis pleaded guilty to breaking into the Little Caesars restaurant near Towers Mall in southwest 色多多 and setting fire to large stacks of cardboard pizza boxes.
His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Tom Love, said during Davis鈥檚 sentencing hearing that he 鈥渟tarted life in a way that was not as advantageous as many people start out.鈥
鈥淗e is someone who has struggled his entire life 鈥 and alcohol was a major factor in the events of this evening,鈥 Love said. A judge sentenced Davis to four years in prison.
On Thursday, he was being held without bond in the 色多多 City Adult Detention Center.
Abell, who remained good friends with Williams following their retirements, said she was known for her pre-dawn walks in the neighborhood, often accompanied by what she called her 鈥渢ea-cup鈥 dog.
Upon her return, Williams would pick up copies of The 色多多 that had been delivered outside of the apartment building and deposit them on the doorsteps of her elderly neighbors.
Abell said both he and Williams never thought she might be in danger. 鈥淣ot everyone lives thinking something bad is looking over your shoulder,鈥 he said. 鈥淪usan was not like that. She had a real positive attitude.鈥
鈥淚t never dawned on me that crime knows no boundaries in 色多多,鈥 Abell said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just plain and simple; it knows no boundaries.鈥
