Jury convicts Lexington man for murder, burglary after seven hours of deliberation
A jury convicted a Lexington man of intentional murder for the death of an 82-year-old woman who prosecutors said died two years after she was stabbed in her home during a robbery.
David Joel Williams was found guilty for the murder of Hilda Mae Pike, who died in 2018 — two years after Williams allegedly entered Pike’s home to rob and violently attack her. A jury also found him guilty of first-degree burglary after nearly seven hours of deliberations, according to Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Katie Schaffer.
Deliberations started in the murder trial Thursday afternoon following hours of contentious closing arguments from Williams’ lawyer and local prosecutors. Williams’ attorney attacked testimony from the victim’s surviving daughter, while prosecutors blasted the defense attorney for her approach in the case.
Williams was accused of stabbing Hilda Mae Pike repeatedly in 2016, an attack that which prosecutors said ultimately contributed to her death two years later. Williams was indicted for a murder charge in August 2018. He was also indicted on a charge of first-degree burglary.
In August 2016, Williams broke into Pike’s Dogwood Drive home, woke her and demanded money, police alleged. She told Williams she didn’t have any money, and he allegedly stabbed her more than a dozen times. He took a small amount of cash and ran away.
Later, Williams’ DNA was confirmed to be under Pike’s nails.
His trial began Monday, with closing statements taking place Thursday. Marcel Bush Radomile, Williams’ attorney, conceded Williams did rob and stab Pike, but he never intentionally or wantonly attempted to cause the her death — eliminating the possibility of a murder conviction.
“Even though we don’t have to prove anything, we feel we have proven that he did not cause the death of Mrs. Pike,” Radomile said during closing arguments.
Defense: Williams ‘not a monster’
During testimony throughout the week, former Lexington Police Detective Chris Schoonover testified Williams never took responsibility for the crimes or admitted to the robbery. Radomile claimed her client did take responsibility and was ashamed for what he had done.
The investigation revealed Williams had targeted Pike after she bought a vehicle from his family, police said.
In Radomile’s hour-long closing argument, she alleged Williams went walking near Pike’s home and saw his car in her driveway, unaware the 2001 Buick had been sold to her. So, he made a “terrible” sudden decision to break into the home to find the keys to his car by strangling Pike, and stabbing her more than 20 times.
“What he did was monstrous, but he’s not a monster,” Radomile said.
Radomile argued Pike returned to a baseline health condition after the accident, but also that Pike had a myriad of other health issues before her death that contributed to her passing in 2018. She attempted to discredit testimony of Pike’s daughter, Connie Rogers, and alleged she built a narrative against Williams and couldn’t be trusted.
Prosecutor: Case ‘is what nightmares are made of’
Prosecutors Katie Schaffer and James Judge alleged Pike’s death was a result of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in addition to the injuries sustained during the assault, according to court documents.
“If you believe (the attack) resulted in her death or hastened her death, you have to find him guilty,” Schaffer said.
Before launching into the facts of the case, Schaffer apologized to the victims’ family, including Rogers, and said the way the defense attacked them was “egregious and disgusting.”
“On behalf of the justice system, I want to apologize to the victim’s family because the way (Rogers) was treated by the defense counsel is why victims don’t want to come forward,” she said.
Schaffer said what happened to Pike was what nightmares were made of for single women, people who live alone and the elderly.
It was no doubt for Schaffer that Williams should be found guilty for murder, as he intentionally went into the home, strangled her and then threw her cordless phone down the hall to hinder her from calling for help. With 20 stab wounds, 82-year-old Pike had to crawl to find her phone after she regained consciousness, Schaffer said.
“Of course he is willing to concede to burglary, because he doesn’t want to get convicted of murder,” she said. “...She was stabbed over 20 times. If that doesn’t show intent to murder someone, I don’t know what does.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 2:15 PM.
