Life in prison for man who killed former girlfriend and family
Thursday, 06 Mar 2008 19:54
Pierre Williams was sentenced to a minimum of 38 years in prison
A man who killed his former girlfriend and her two children with a hammer has been sentenced to life in prison.
Pierre Williams, of Cherrington Road, Birmingham, was convicted of three counts of murder and two counts of sexual assault at Manchester crown court today.
The judge handed down three life sentences and said Williams should spend a minimum of 38 years in prison.
The 33-year-old had previously denied murdering Beverley Samuels, 36, Kesha Wizzart, 18, and Fred Wizzart, 13.
Their bodies were found at their home in Fallowfield on July 12th last year after they died from serious head injures.
Post mortem examinations later established that the injuries had been caused by a hammer and that both Ms Samuels and Kesha had been sexually assaulted.
Williams and Ms Samuels had been in a relationship for around a year that ended in September 2006.
Police claim Ms Samuels had become increasing fearful that he would return to the house and slept with a baseball bat under her bed.
The jury in the case heard how Ms Samuels had been sexually assaulted before being struck with at least seven blows to the head.
Her daughter Kesha had her hands bound behind her back with a bra before being killed in a similar manner.
Fred was also beaten to death and found in the same room of the house as his mother.
It was alleged that Williams had a history of sexual violence and previous victims of his attacks were called as prosecution witness in the court case.
Following the launch of a media appeal into the murders in July last year, Williams rang police in Birmingham saying "I've been on [the] news today. I'm a suspect in a murder inquiry".
As a result he was arrested and charged with three counts of murder.
Detective Superintendent Ian Foster said today: "There is no doubt that these murders were sexually motivated. They were brutal and senseless, resulting in the tragic deaths of three people who had everything to live for.
"Williams is clearly a dangerous man who had displayed violence in the part and I am pleased that he is going to be behind bars for a very long time," he said.
"We may never known what drove him to carry out such horrific attacks, he has never given any explanation for the murders, and I know that has been hard for the family to deal with. We would still like him to tell us exactly what happened if only to give the family some peace of mind."
Kesha has been described as a hard-working teenager with a very bright future.
In 2004, she appeared on ITV's Young Stars In Their Eyes.