An exhaustive search for a DeKalb County woman’s body came to an end Thursday, three weeks after her grandson was found driving her car.
Though investigators initially hoped Millicent Williams would be found alive, those hopes were dashed after blood was found throughout her home and in her car. There was so much blood, police said, that the 78-year-old could not have survived. But searches of a nearby park, pond and woods turned up no sign of the missing woman.
On Wednesday night, police found a decomposed body down an embankment off I-20 westbound. At the time, investigators couldn’t say for sure whether the remains belonged to a man or a woman, DeKalb police spokeswoman Shiera Campbell said. Through dental records, medical examiners determined the remains were Williams, Campbell said Thursday afternoon.
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Credit: None None
“It’s definitely a relief,” Campbell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You look at her and she could be anybody’s grandmother. Although she’s not with her family anymore, at least they can finally lay her to rest.”
Family members reported Williams missing from her Decatur-area home on July 27. Inside the Brookgreen Point home, there were signs of a bloody struggle, and the woman’s car was missing. There was blood on Williams’ bed and on the floor, and bloody sheets were found in the garage, according to arrest warrants.
Later that day, Williams' grandson was found in his grandmother's 2014 silver Toyota Corolla, according to police. Gregory Williams, 36, was arrested in a Kroger parking lot and charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and theft by taking. The car had more blood inside and muddy tires. Inside the trunk, there were music CDs, some of them broken as though whatever had been placed on top was too heavy, according to police. Gregory Williams had a bloody knife, police said.
Investigators were able to determine Millicent Williams’ cellphone was last at a park about 3 miles away from her home. That park and the vicinity were searched for several days with dogs, all-terrain vehicles and divers.
Two days after his arrest, Gregory Williams was charged with felony murder, although his grandmother’s body had not yet been located.
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Investigators believe Gregory Williams attacked his grandmother with a knife and then disposed of her body with her car, according to arrest warrants. But Gregory Williams refused to reveal where he had taken the body, according to police.
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Though Gregory Williams had lived with his grandmother for several years, police and court records showed a history of problems between the two. Millicent Williams even feared her grandson would hurt her. Her grandson, an Army veteran with mental illness, had previously threatened to kill her, according to a police report.
Between July 2011 and September 2014, officers were called six times to the home, and Millicent Williams was twice granted temporary protective orders against her grandson. Williams often blamed her grandson’s behavior on his military service, police reports stated.
Gregory Williams enlisted in the Army in November 1999 and was a petroleum lab specialist at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, according to a military spokeswoman. Williams served until 2002, earning a national defense service medal, Army service ribbon, and parachutist badge.
Although his grandmother believed he had served in Iraq, Gregory Williams was never deployed, the Army said. He remained late Thursday in the DeKalb County jail, where he was being held without bond.
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