Bio

Richard Head Williams was born on July 19, 1969. He grew up in Houston, Texas. His early life faced challenges that many youngsters encounter. Williams often got into trouble. By the time he was a teenager, he started to encounter the law frequently.

When Williams was 17 years old, he committed serious crimes. This included burglary, arson, and aggravated sexual assault. He was caught and sentenced to serve ten years in prison. He spent almost the entire decade in the Texas Department of Corrections. During his time there, he was disciplined for various reasons, such as fighting and being disrespectful to the staff.

Williams was released in February 1997, just a month before the events that would lead to his crimes in the future. After leaving prison, he moved in with a friend named Jerrol Blueford. While living there, he met Bruce and Michelle Gilmore, who were acquaintances of Blueford.

The Gilmores had a connection to a woman named Jeanette Williams, who was paralyzed due to an injury. She was a close friend of theirs and had lived with them at different times. It was during this period that Williams was offered money by the Gilmores for a terrible act against Jeanette.

Growing up, Williams faced many difficulties that affected his life choices. Despite having moments of improvement in school, his troubles followed him into adulthood. He made choices that resulted in a criminal past and set the stage for the events that would later lead to his arrest.

Murder Story

On March 24, 1997, Richard Williams murdered Jeanette Williams, a 47-year-old paraplegic woman in Houston, Texas. The situation leading up to this event involved a contract killing, which was arranged by Bruce and Michelle Gilmore, acquaintances of Jeanette. The Gilmores had taken out a $25,000 life insurance policy on Jeanette and planned to collect it after her death.

Richard Williams agreed to kill Jeanette for $12,000. On that day, he, the Gilmores, and Jeanette traveled to the Third Ward area of Houston, ostensibly to buy cocaine. While Bruce Gilmore stayed in the car, Michelle Gilmore and Richard pushed Jeanette in her wheelchair towards a corner, pretending to look for drugs.

At that moment, Richard grabbed Jeanette from behind and used a nine-inch steak knife to slice her throat. After she fell from her wheelchair, he stabbed her multiple times in the chest. After the attack, Bruce and Michelle drove away, leaving Richard at the crime scene. They later told a friend, Jerrol Blueford, that Williams was responsible for the murder and gave him $400 to pass along to Richard.

Initially, police at the scene of the murder thought Jeanette had been the victim of a hit-and-run accident, due to the position of her body. However, once they turned her over, the severity of the injuries was clear, indicating a brutal attack. The medical examiner confirmed that Jeanette had bled to death and suffocated from the wounds.

The investigation led police to the Gilmores, who turned on Richard, telling authorities he was the murderer. Richard ultimately confessed to the crime on videotape. His previous criminal history included convictions for burglary, arson, and aggravated sexual assault.

Richard was arrested three days after the murder. On October 28, 1997, he was found guilty of capital murder. Bruce and Michelle Gilmore were also convicted of capital murder for their part in the conspiracy. They were each sentenced to life in prison.

Richard was sentenced to death on November 21, 1997. Following years of appeals, he was executed by lethal injection on February 25, 2003, at the age of 33. In his final moments, he expressed remorse for the pain he caused to the victim's family. His last meal included an assortment of foods, and he continued to claim he had been wrongfully convicted, maintaining that he did not know Jeanette or the Gilmores well.