A Clinton, Maryland, man convicted of killing his sister and two cousins in 2017 was given six life sentences by a judge Friday — three without the possibility of parole.
“He will not return to our community,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, speaking about 30-year-old Antonio Williams.
It was a horrific case and a bloody crime scene after he stabbed his six-year-old sister Nadira Withers and his cousins — six-year-old Ajayah and nine-year-old Ariana DeCree — numerous times in August 2017.
Their bodies were found by Williams’ mother, who said she won’t accept that her son was responsible for the murder. After an initial confession, Williams also argued he wasn’t responsible.
During the long-awaited trial, prosecutors said the girls were killed in their sleep after playing loudly around the house and upsetting Williams earlier that day.
“They had a right to grow up. To be women. They had a right to have a future,” said Braveboy. “That future was cut down by someone who was supposed to love and care for them. It was just horrific.”
The case divided the family so much that extra security requirements were put in place inside the courtroom to keep relatives from physically going after each other. At the sentencing hearing, 10 county sheriff’s deputies were present inside the courtroom, with so many separating the seating area from those involved in the trial that it was hard to see the judge.
“It’s not a good day but a great day,” said Anthony DeCree, the father of Ajayah and Ariana. “We made it. Two fathers, three daughters … been a long, hard struggle. But we made it.”
DeCree said, “justice was served,” and thanked officials for their work on the case.
“It’s not what we wanted, but it is what we’ve got,” he said. “And we have to learn to live with that. Now the healing can truly begin.”
