Man convicted of murdering, hiding body of Lexington woman in 2020 gets new trial
Kentucky’s highest court has ruled a Lexington man convicted of suffocating a woman and hiding her body in a closet will get a new trial after Fayette County prosecutors withheld evidence in his case.
William Parker “Bill” Brown, 56, was found guilty last year of the murder of 62-year-old Ava Creech, who was found bound, gagged and decomposing in a closet in her Victoria Way home Oct. 2, 2020.
At the conclusion of his jury trial in April 2024, Brown was found guilty of murder, of a charge of being a felon in possession of a handgun and of receiving stolen property. He received a life sentence.
But in October, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously granted Brown a new trial, set to take place in June, according to court documents.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 16.
In the opinion issued in October, the state supreme court unanimously ruled prosecutors withheld jail phone call recordings from Brown’s defense team that justices felt could have changed the defense’s tactics.
“We find it both plausible and reasonable that Brown might have altered his defense in these meaningful ways had he known the Commonwealth’s intention to produce the recorded calls at trial,” Justice Angela Bisig wrote. “As such, it is doubtful that Brown’s defense would not have been materially changed by proper disclosure of the recordings.”
Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird did not respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
The jail call recordings
Prosecutors said Creech died Sept. 11, 2020, but her body wasn’t found by police until Oct. 2.
She had been bound with duct tape and had paper towels shoved down her throat. Her cause of death was ruled asphyxiation and blunt force trauma.
In April 2024, Brown took the stand in his defense and was confronted by prosecutors who played jail recordings between Brown and his sister discussing the case. The phone calls, made while the trial was ongoing, were not turned over to the defense as part of discovery ahead of their introduction in the courtroom, as is required by law.
Dan Parker, Brown’s trial attorney, objected to the calls being introduced as his client was being questioned under oath. Parker asked to review the calls on a break, but his request was denied.
Prosecutors Katie Holt and James Judge argued at trial they didn’t have to disclose the calls, and Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis agreed.
The justices noted Travis was more focused on whether the jury could hear the calls under hearsay rules, as opposed to whether there was a problem with how the evidence was introduced.
The jury heard a portion of the recorded call in which Brown told his sister his lawyer advised him, “it’s just hard to go in there and dispute the gun too much without making it look like you’re lying about the murder.”
Other portions of the call were played as well, and Brown could be heard saying it was “good for his case” the victim’s friend had since died, and therefore couldn’t testify.
The supreme court said both statements suggested a consciousness of guilt and could have changed how the defense presented their case.
Prosecutors had several days to produce the calls before Brown took the stand, justices agreed.
