Manling Williams

Background

Manling Tsang Williams was 32 years old at sentencing and lived in a Rowland Heights home. Her husband was Neal Williams, 27. Their sons were Devon, 7, and Ian, 3. Manling Williams was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder involving the deaths of her husband and their two children.

The offence

Manling Williams murdered her husband and two young children in the family’s condominium in the 18200 block of Camino Bello in Rowland Heights.

The judge said each of the three killings was “deliberate, premeditated and committed by lying in wait.” The sentencing judge said the evidence showed she planned the killings two months in advance and immediately began trying to conceal her guilt afterward. The judge said that after smothering Devon and Ian in their bunk bed, “The defendant savagely, brutally and viciously attacked her husband with a katana sword,” and that Neal Williams was stabbed and slashed more than 97 times.

The sentencing judge stated that it takes five to 10 minutes for a person to die by suffocation and said Manling Williams had at least five minutes to contemplate her actions while killing one child before killing the other son in the same manner. The judge said she wore latex gloves as she attacked her husband.

The sentencing judge described post-offence conduct: after the killings, Manling Williams typed up a note indicating that Neal Williams had killed the children and himself, disposed of bloody clothing, returned home before screaming to neighbors that someone had killed her family, and feigned grief, sadness and bewilderment during detectives’ interview for “hours.”

The judge said Williams broke down and admitted the murders after investigators confronted her with a bloody cigarette box found in her car.

During sentencing, the judge told Manling Williams: “It is not for me to forgive, because the ones in the position to forgive are not with us,” and “I hope your families find peace.” The judge also told her: “It is the order of this court that you should suffer the penalty of death.”

Investigation

A woman reported finding the bodies of her husband and two boys in their home, and authorities arrested Manling Williams after she made “incriminating statements.”

During the investigation, the cause of the children’s deaths initially remained unknown, and coroners had yet to conduct an autopsy of the three victims. Autopsies were scheduled.

The case investigation included conflicting accounts of Manling Williams’ whereabouts just before the bodies were discovered. Neighbors said Manling Williams initially told them she couldn’t sleep early Wednesday morning and decided to take a drive. Her first statement to investigators, described by a neighbor named Jessica Cerda, was that she had gone to a nearby liquor store for Red Bull and cigarettes and discovered the bodies when she returned.

Later, the investigation described that Manling Williams told investigators she had gone grocery shopping for breakfast and returned about an hour later to find the bodies. Cerda said Manling Williams was clad in boxer shorts and a T-shirt and did not have her shoes on either.

Crime scene investigation included evidence collection. Defense attorney questioning during trial described that hair samples collected for evidence from Williams’ shower were negative for blood. Crime scene investigator Flynn Lamas made that statement during cross-examination.

Sheriff’s homicide detective testimony included that Neal Williams’ blood was found on the cigarette pack and that Manling Williams said in her video confession that the blood was the evidence that forced her to confess. During cross-examination, defense attorney Tom Althaus asked whether police went to the 76 station and inquired about video or a receipt that would prove when Williams went to the gas station; the witness said police never inquired.

Arrest

Manling Williams was arrested on suspicion of killing her sons Ian, 3, and Devon, 7, and her husband Neal, 27. Authorities said she was placed under arrest by a sergeant from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau after she made incriminating statements. She was held without bail and was scheduled to be arraigned at Citrus Court in West Covina.

Trial

Counts and convictions

A jury found Manling Williams guilty on all counts, making her eligible for the death penalty for killing her husband and children.

In 2010, a jury convicted Manling Williams of three counts of first-degree murder. The jury also found special allegations of using weapons and lying in wait.

The defense did not argue against guilt, but disputed the extent to which she was guilty in relation to premeditation.

Evidence and expert testimony

The trial included debate over the time of death involving gastric emptying.

The prosecution contended Williams killed her family before going out with friends for dinner, based on evidence that the children died within two hours of eating pineapple pizza. Testimony described that Ian and Devon had a small amount of food in their stomachs at the time of their death and none in their small intestine.

A prosecution expert witness stated that “Death must have occurred after eating and soon enough... before digestion.”

The defense expert Gregory Reiber differed from the prosecution’s expert on conclusions. Reiber testified the food in both boys’ stomachs had evidence of being far along in the digestive process, and he contradicted earlier coroner’s department testimony about digestion timing. Reiber also testified that gastric emptying could not be relied upon as a method for determining time of death, saying: “If you are talking about a single individual in a single circumstance, it is not scientifically reliable.”

Time of death and other witness testimony

Evidence discussed during trial included earlier testimony that pizza was delivered to the Williams home at 8:22 p.m.

Crime scene investigator Flynn Lamas testified that hair collected from the drain was negative for blood.

Sgt. Donald Walls was the final prosecution witness before the prosecution rested. Walls testified that Manling Williams told him she purchased a pack of Camel Lights cigarettes, gas and Red Bull at a 76 gas station the night of the killings. Walls also testified Neal Williams’ blood was found on the cigarette pack, and that Manling Williams said in her video confession that the blood forced her to confess.

The defense acknowledged an extra-marital affair but disputed the prosecution’s assertion that it formed a motive.

Closing arguments occurred in the penalty phase. Defense attorneys argued for life rather than death.

Sentencing

After one jury was unable to agree on whether to sentence Manling Williams to death or life imprisonment, a second penalty phase jury recommended last year that she be put to death. Judge Robert Martinez followed that recommendation.

A first penalty phase jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of the death penalty.

A second penalty phase jury returned a verdict of death, with six men and six women, and recommended Williams face the same fate. Judge Martinez made the final sentencing decision.

Judge Martinez sentenced Manling Williams to death on January 18, 2012.

During sentencing, Judge Martinez reflected on the crime and said: “The evidence is compelling that the defendant, for selfish reasons, murdered her own two children,” and described her motivation as a “narcissistic, selfish and adolescent” desire to start a new life with another man, free from the hindrances of family life.

Judge Martinez also stated: “The defendant savagely, brutally and viciously attacked her husband with a katana sword,” and described the nature of the killings. He said the evidence showed Manling Williams planned the killings two months in advance and immediately began trying to conceal her guilt. He said she typed up a note after the killings. He said that during the interview she “feigned grief, sadness and bewilderment” for “hours,” and said she broke down and admitted after being confronted with a bloody cigarette box found in her car.

Judge Martinez told Williams: “It is the order of this court that you should suffer the penalty of death.”

Appeals

The appeals process was described as beginning automatically when a convict was sentenced to death in California. Jan Williams said she hoped the appeals process would not require her to continue attending court hearings regularly.

Outcome

Manling Williams was sentenced to death for the murders of her husband and two sons.

A jury convicted her of three counts of first-degree murder in 2010, and a penalty phase jury recommended death, which Judge Robert Martinez imposed.

Aftermath

Jan Williams, Neal Williams’ mother and grandmother to Devon and Ian, said she was glad the trial drew to a close and said: “I'm relieved that this chapter is over,” and “I couldn't take another trial.” She also stated: “This has had a terrible impact, not just on me and my family, on the Tsang family, but everyone involved.” She later said she had mixed feelings about the sentence, saying: “I have some reservations, because it can be hard on the families. It can take decades to resolve,” and that she hoped the appeals process would not require her to continue attending court hearings regularly. She also said she believed it was unlikely she would ever see the punishment carried out, stating: “The legal process will no doubt go on for probably the rest of my lifetime,” and “But I feel like I am leaving something behind today. Something is finished.”

Manling Williams’ sister, Shun Ling Tsang, urged the judge to spare her sister’s life and sentence her instead to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Tsang said: “Both families involved in this case have asked the prosecution not to pursue a second penalty phase.” Tsang also stated that pursuing the death penalty was “ego-driven” and “politically motivated,” and said: “Today will not bring about closure or healing.”

Defense attorney Tom Althaus and defense attorney Haydeh Takasugi argued for Williams’ life to be spared during sentencing proceedings. Althaus argued the killings were not calculated executions and called them “a ‘sudden mistake.’” He also argued there was “no basis for the prosecution's contention that these murders were planned,” and said Manling Williams was in “extreme mental and emotional disturbance.” Althaus acknowledged an extra-marital affair but said: “There's no good explanation why it happened,” and described Manling Williams prior to the killings as “a kind, generous, troubled woman who loved her husband and children.”

In closing statements, Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese said: “Make no mistake about it, granting life without parole is granting leniency,” and asked jurors to consider the impact of the murders, stating: “The defendant not only took the lives of Neal, Devon and Ian with these murders. She took a piece of Jan (Neal's mother) with her, a piece of Mala (Neal's sister) with her. She ruined more lives than I can count.” Okun-Wiese also said: “There will be no more additional photographs in these frames,” and “Never again. In 15 years, 20 years, Jan Williams will have these photographs and nothing more.” She said: “When did it become OK in our society to to commit three heinous crimes, kill your children and your husband and to blame it on your mom?” and added: “This case screams for the maximum punishment.”

Defense attorney Tom Althaus said: “We are not trying to make any excuses,” and “We are not trying to blame anybody else. We are not blaming her mom. Manling Williams is responsible for the crime and she will suffer the consequences.” He also said: “Pity is not a trade off,” and described the death penalty chamber and choice, stating: “It is something you give for free, something that comes from your heart, that this woman has something worth saving. That's your choice, ultimately. To give her life or decide for her to go to that death chamber and have her family look in those windows and see her die.”

During sentencing, Judge Martinez expressed concerns about how the death penalty is administered in California and said: “This penalty is precariously close to becoming a hypothetical,” and told Williams: “Ms. Williams, I will probably never see you again,” and “I will be long gone when this case and judgement is finalized.”

Neighbors described the killings as shocking and described Neal Williams as an attentive father who doted on Ian and Devon. A teenager named James Brown described: “They were happy,” and said: “They looked happy playing catch or 'Star Wars' on the front lawn.” Brown said: “He was a cool gentleman,” and added: “he wouldn't mess with people. He just read books and played with the boys.” Neighbors also described Manling Williams alternately as moody, troubled, foul-mouthed at times, and quiet at others. Laura Estrada, who attended school with Manling Williams from kindergarten through high school and graduated Los Altos High School in 1998, said: “I remember her as very emotionally unstable,” and “She was not content with who she was. I always felt sorry for her,” and described two months-ago contact at Marie Callendar's in La Puente where Manling Williams showed her a photo, saying: “For once she didn't seem grumpy and irritated.” Estrada said: “She showed me a photo of her family and I was happy for her because everything seemed to be working out well for her.”

At a vigil across the street from the Williams home, Carole Bailey stated: “She and Neal were very happy together,” and said: “She (Man-ling) couldn't have done this. She doesn't have a violent temper. She's not that kind of person.” Neighbor Jessica Hui said earlier that Manling Williams spoke Mandarin Chinese and described: “Most times I saw her standing in front of the house smoking and smoking,” adding: “She never said much.”

Detectives continued bagging evidence at the crime scene. Neighbors described the Williams home as cluttered from the sidewalk, including stuffed animals on a glass shelf inside the front door, boxes and papers near the doorway, discarded children’s toys including a football, a plastic baseball bat and a plastic pitching machine, and a faded can of Sprite on a walkway leading to the front door. Neighbors said coroner investigators removed the boys’ bodies through a bedroom window that overlooks Camino Bello shortly after the last television crew had gone home about 11:30 p.m.

George Porter, who lives next door to Williams’ mother, described Manling Williams as outgoing and bubbly and Neal Williams as reserved. Porter said Manling Williams once tried to sell him life insurance. Porter said he had not seen Neal Williams in a month and a half and that in past few months Neal Williams was often in the neighborhood. Porter said that when Williams visited his mother, he brought his wife and sons home. Porter stated: “I'm sorry to hear that. It's terrible.”