CLEARFIELD – A Morrisdale woman has been accused of killing her husband and then disguising his shooting death as a suicide.
Kimberly S. Williams, 46, has been charged by Clearfield-based state police with criminal homicide, aggravated assault (two counts) and related offenses.
The charges were announced Thursday in a press release that was published on Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr.’s Web site.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, troopers were dispatched to a reported suicide at 3:17 p.m. March 14 on Elm Drive in Morrisdale.
Upon arrival, Ronald Williams Jr. was found lying in bed with an apparent gunshot wound to his right temple. A 22-magnum pistol was also in his right hand with its slide locked at the rear.
Kimberly Williams reportedly told troopers she was at her dresser when she heard a gunshot. She said when she turned around, she saw her husband had shot himself in the head.
As part of the investigation, information was received from a witness who was asked to oversee a trust fund for Ronald and Kimberly Williams.
The witness received a “troubling e-mail” from Ronald Williams, directing that an autopsy be conducted if something happened to him. A change of will was also requested, state police said.
The witness was also contacted by Kimberly Williams over the e-mail, and she reportedly stated an autopsy wasn’t necessary because her husband’s death was a suicide.
Following an autopsy, the pathologist requested gunshot residue testing because there wasn’t any soot or stippling observed during the examination.
Investigators also requested ballistic testing from the Pennsylvania State Police laboratory as well as from a separate, private laboratory.
It was found the firearm stops depositing gunshot residue at 48 inches, state police said, and the pathologist concluded it was discharged at a distance greater than Ronald William’s arm length.
The pathologist then ruled his cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head and his manner of death as a homicide, according to the affidavit.
On Monday state police received the ballistic analysis, which indicated Ronald Williams didn’t have any gunshot residue on his hands while Kimberly Williams’ left palm tested positive.
Charges were filed at approximately 10 a.m. Wednesday through the office of Magisterial District Judge Jerome Nevling, and a warrant was subsequently issued for Kimberly Williams’ arrest.
The Pennsylvania State Police’s Fugitive Task Force was activated, and Williams was located in North Carolina, according to the press release.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, took her into custody at a Fayetteville, N.C. residence at approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Williams is incarcerated at the Cumberland County Jail in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Clearfield County. Extradition could take up to six months, according to the press release.