Man accused of strangling woman in Cobb entered U.S. illegally, ICE says

Sagastume Rivas, a 21-year-old Honduran national, entered the U.S. on March 17, 2021, and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol, according to an ICE spokesperson. He was issued a notice to appear and was later ordered to be removed by an immigration judge on July 11, 2023, the spokesperson added.

“Criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety should not be free to endanger communities,” the ICE official said. ”ICE remains committed to working with law enforcement partners to apprehend and remove those who break our laws.”

ICE has placed an immigration detainer on Sagastume Rivas at the Cobb jail to ensure he remains in custody for removal proceedings, according to the spokesperson.

Sagastume Rivas allegedly told investigators he had Williams in a chokehold until she lost consciousness and then “put both his knees and full body weight on her neck,” according to the warrant for his arrest. The weight on her neck killed her, officials said.

As of Friday afternoon, court records did not list an attorney for Sagastume Rivas.

Williams’ family does not believe she knew her alleged killer, and a motive has not been disclosed by police.

“My mama didn’t deserve that at all,” her oldest daughter, Gwen Williams, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “My mom was really loved.”

The fact that her mother Camillia died under a camellia bush was a tragically poetic ending to her life, she said, as she had no identification on her.

“She was trying to make sure y’all know who she was,” Gwen Williams said. “She was just letting everybody know, like, ‘That’s me. This me.‘”

“It was sad, but beautiful at the same time,” she added.

Gwen Williams said it’s concerning that Sagastume Rivas was in the U.S. illegally, and that it’s important to the family to learn how he was able to enter and stay in the country for as long as he did.

Her niece, Nicole Williams, described her aunt as a kind, generous soul who was determined and perseverant.

“She means well to everyone. If she’s got it, she’s gonna give it,” she said in a phone interview with the AJC.

Camillia Williams moved to Atlanta from New Orleans about five or six years ago, her niece said. She was the youngest of 13. Now, there are only seven siblings left of that generation. Nicole Williams said her aunt and their tight-knit family have endured other tragedies, including the hardships of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“She lived a rough life … but she made her way," she said of her aunt.

Even living three states away, Camillia Williams remained close to her loved ones.

“We stayed in communication with her,” her niece said from Louisiana. “She’d call. We called and checked on her.”

Nicole Williams was on the phone with her cousin when they got the tragic news around mid-morning the day Camillia Williams’ body was found.

“I was like, ‘What? This got to be a joke. No,’” Nicole Williams recalled.

Since then, the roughly 200-member family has been at a loss.

“Nobody knows how to talk to nobody right now. We don’t even know what to say. We don’t know what to do. We’re out here. She’s way out there,” Nicole Williams said.

For now, the family is hurting as they try to navigate the steps necessary to transport the body back to New Orleans for funeral arrangements. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for those expenses.