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Thread: Jeremy Leshun Williams Sentenced to Life with the Possibility of Parole in 2013 AL Murder of Brioni Rutland

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    Jeremy Leshun Williams Sentenced to Life with the Possibility of Parole in 2013 AL Murder of Brioni Rutland


    Brioni Jamaal Rutland


    Jeremy Leshun Williams


    Man arrested in death of Alabama high school football coach

    BY VICTORIA TAYLOR
    THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

    A 29-year-old man has been arrested on murder charges in connection with the death of a beloved Alabama high school football coach, authorities said.

    Jeremy Leshun Williams, 29, was charged early Saturday, hours after the body of Brioni Jamaal Rutland was pulled from the Tennessee River, according to a post on the Florence Police Department’s Facebook page.

    Rutland, 27, was a former Deshler High School football star who had returned to the school as a volunteer football, track and basketball coach. He had been missing since Tuesday, AL.com reported.

    Police said it is possible Rutland was stabbed or shot and then tossed from the deck of the Old Railroad Bridge in Sheffield, according to the TimesDaily.

    Officials also said concrete blocks were seen chained to Rutland’s body when it was removed from the river.

    “We know he was weighed down, so this was not a suicide or accident,” Sheffield Police Chief Greg Ray told the TimesDaily.

    There was a lot of blood found on the bridge, which suggests that Rutland was either killed on the deck or dragged there so the killer could discard the body, Ray said.

    “In my 31 years as a police officer, investigator and administrator, this is one of the most brutal crimes I’ve seen,” Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan told the TimesDaily.

    Authorities said there was blood on the deck of the Old Railroad Bridge above where they found Rutland’s body.

    The investigation is ongoing, and authorities said they hope the autopsy will fill answer some of the remaining questions.

    Meanwhile, members of the Deshler High School community were heartbroken and shocked by the news, football coach John Mothershed told the paper.

    “Brioni had his future right in front of him,” he said.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...icle-1.1533653
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Charge against man accused in death of Deshler High coach upgraded to capital murder

    FLORENCE, Alabama -- An initial charge was upgraded to capital murder Thursday in Lauderdale County Court against the man accused of killing a volunteer Deshler High School coach and throwing his body into the Tennessee River.

    Jeremy Williams, 29, of 117 E. Hawthorne St., Florence, appeared in court Friday morning to hear the new charges. He has been in jail since his arrest Nov. 30, when he was initially charged with murder.

    Williams is accused of stabbing Brioni "Bree" Rutland more than 30 times and then shooting him in the head before disposing of his body, which was later discovered in the river with concrete blocks attached.

    Capital murder can be charged when someone kills while in the commission of another crime. In this case, Williams is also accused of stealing $1,000 from Rutland.

    According to the Times-Daily, Lauderdale County District Judge Carole Medley set a preliminary hearing for Feb. 21 and appointed Florence attorney Chris Childers to aid Williams' attorney Dane Perry on the capital murder case.

    http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/01/...ed_in_dea.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Trial date set in Lauderdale Co. capital murder case

    A trial date has been set for a Lauderdale County man indicted on capital murder charges.

    Jeremy Williams plead not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease during his arraignment Friday morning.

    Williams was accused of stabbing and shooting Brioni Rutland and then dumping his body last year following a confrontation over a gambling debt.

    Rutland was a volunteer coach at Deshler.

    The trial date has been set for Sept. 14th and the state says they intend to seek the death penalty if Williams is convicted.

    http://www.myfoxal.com/story/2798595...al-murder-case
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    Suspect in 2013 stabbing, shooting death of Alabama high school coach to face trial Nov. 16

    By Crystal Bonvillian
    AL.com

    A Lauderdale County man accused of capital murder in the November 2013 death of an assistant football coach at Deshler High School will go to trial next month, nearly two years to the day after the slaying.

    Jeremy Leshun Williams, 31, of Florence is accused of stabbing and shooting 27-year-old Brioni Jamaal Rutland on Nov. 26, 2013, over a gambling debt. He is scheduled for trial at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 16 in front of Circuit Judge Mike Jones.

    Williams was initially charged with murder, but the charge was upgraded to capital murder after a court decided the killing happened during the commission of a robbery. A grand jury indicted him last December.

    Court records indicate that Williams owed Rutland money and that, the night of the homicide, Rutland went to Williams's Florence apartment to collect on that debt. When Williams didn't have the money, Rutland threatened to "cut one of his fingers off every time he saw him until he paid him," the documents allege.

    Williams told investigators that they struggled and Rutland choked him until he passed out. When he awoke, Williams said, Rutland was cutting his pinky finger off with a pocket knife.

    Williams told investigators he managed to grab the knife away from Rutland and began stabbing him. Police said Rutland was stabbed more than 30 times before being shot.

    Williams said that, after stabbing Rutland, he ran to his bedroom and retrieved a pistol, at which time Rutland came after him again. It was at that point that he claims he shot and killed the man.

    Rutland died of a gunshot wound to the head.

    Williams disposed of Rutland's body by weighing him down with concrete blocks and throwing him off a railroad bridge in Sheffield, according to police. Divers retrieved his body from the Tennessee River three days after his slaying.

    Police say Williams confessed to the homicide the next day. Though he claimed that he was "broke," investigators found evidence that he stole more than $1,000 from Rutland during the slaying.

    He also allegedly admitted taking the victim's car, cell phones and wallet before dumping his body. The phones and empty wallet were later found in a drain pipe near Williams' apartment complex.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...hooting_d.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    2013 capital murder trial to begin today

    By Tom Smith
    TimesDaily.com

    FLORENCE — The capital murder case of a man accused of killing a former Deshler High School volunteer coach during Thanksgiving 2013 is scheduled to begin today.

    Court officials said jury selection in the capital murder case of Jeremy Williams will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Circuit Judge Mike Jones’s courtroom.

    Williams, 31, of Florence, is charged in connection with the 2013 death of Brioni “Bree” Rutland.

    “We’re ready to start the selection and move forward with the case,” Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said.

    Williams’s defense team of Florence attorneys Chris Childers and Charlie Bottoms have a pending change of venue motion Jones said would be taken into consideration if an impartial jury could not be selected.

    More than 350 potential jurors have been called for the case.

    Williams is accused of stabbing and shooting Rutland before dumping his body off Old Railroad Bridge. Rutland was last seen alive Nov. 26, 2013.

    Authorities said according to a preliminary autopsy, Rutland was stabbed more than 30 times and shot once in the head at close range. Police said he had concrete blocks chained to his feet before he was dumped into the Tennessee River.

    Williams pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental defect.

    He claimed Rutland’s death was self-defense after Rutland confronted him at his Florence apartment about a gambling debt and threatened to cut off his little finger if he didn’t pay. He told police Rutland tried to choke him, and tried to cut off his finger.

    During a preliminary hearing detectives said Williams told police he stabbed Rutland while they were fighting, then got a gun and shot him and dumped the body into the river.

    Divers discovered Rutland’s body after a jogger saw a large amount of blood on Old Railroad Bridge on Thanksgiving 2013 and called police.

    Tuscumbia police initiated a missing person investigation Nov. 27, 2013, after Rutland’s girlfriend reported him missing.

    Florence police arrested Williams on Nov. 30, 2013. He was indicted in December 2014.

    During a January arraignment hearing, the district attorney said he was planning on seeking the death penalty if Williams is found guilty.

    Court officials expect the trial to continue for at least a week.

    http://www.timesdaily.com/news/crime...66af1f67e.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Slain Deshler High School coach stabbed over 70 times, shot in eye, testimony shows

    By Crystal Bonvillian
    AL.com

    The volunteer Deshler High School coach slain in 2013 and dumped into the Tennessee River was stabbed more than 70 times and shot in the eye, jurors learned Wednesday.

    Lauderdale County prosecutors spent the day of testimony trying to poke holes in the defense of 31-year-old Jeremy Leshun Williams, 31, of Florence, who is charged with capital murder. Williams is accused of killing 27-year-old Brioni Jamaal Rutland in a fight over a gambling debt.

    Williams claims that he acted in self-defense after Rutland attacked him and tried to cut off one of his fingers. The prosecution disputes those claims, accusing Williams of taking $1,100 from Rutland before throwing his body off Old Railroad Bridge in Sheffield.

    According to WAFF 48
    , a local man testified on Tuesday that he, his wife and his grandson were on a post-Thanksgiving meal walk when they found a pool of blood on the bridge and called police. Divers retrieved Rutland's body from the Tennessee River three days after his slaying.

    Williams told police at the time of his arrest that Rutland choked him until he passed out and, when he awoke, Rutland was cutting his pinky finger off with a pocket knife. He claimed he grabbed the knife and stabbed Rutland several times before running into his bedroom to retrieve a gun.

    He claimed that Rutland was coming at him when he shot him in the head.

    The Times-Daily reports
    that District Attorney Chris Connolly, in opening statements on Tuesday, told jurors that it would have been impossible for that scenario to happen because Rutland's throat had been cut and his spinal cord severed.

    Florence police Detective Kevin Jackson also testified that Williams had no marks on his neck or throat to indicate he'd been choked, the newspaper reports. Other than cuts on his hands and a small bruise on one knee, Williams was uninjured, the investigator said.

    In a videotaped statement shown to jurors Wednesday, Williams described taking Rutland's two cellphones and wallet throwing them in a nearby sewer drain before driving Rutland's car to Sheffield and getting a ride back to Florence from his girlfriend.

    He also admitted buying items to dispose of Rutland's body and using a borrowed SUV to take the body, which he stuffed into a trash can, to the bridge. He chained Rutland's feet to some concrete blocks and pushed his body from the bridge into the river, Williams told police.

    Click here to read the entire story from the Times-Daily.


    He used bleach and other cleaning supplies to try to get the large amount of blood in his Hawthorn Street apartment cleaned up.

    Defense attorney Chris Childers said in his own opening remarks that Williams was scared of Rutland and that he got rid of his body because he "knew the kind of people Rutland ran with."

    Three friends of Rutland's testified Wednesday, however, that though they placed bets with him over the span of a few years, he had never threatened them to collect a debt.

    Testimony continued Thursday morning in Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Mike Jones' courtroom.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...ool_coach.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Man convicted in fatal stabbing of Tuscumbia high school coach

    By Erin Edgemon
    AL.com

    A Lauderdale County jury convicted Jeremy Williams of intentional murder in the 2013 slaying of Deshler High School coach Brioni Rutland.

    Williams, 31, of Florence was charged with capital murder, but the jury convicted him of a lesser offense on Saturday night, WHNT reported.

    According to court testimony, the volunteer football coach for the Tuscumbia high school was stabbed more than 70 times, shot in the eye during a fight over a gambling debt. He was then dumped into the Tennessee River.

    Williams claimed he acted in self-defense after Rutland attacked him and tried to cut off one of his fingers. The prosecution disputes those claims, accusing Williams of taking $1,100 from Rutland before throwing his body off Old Railroad Bridge in Sheffield.

    The date of a sentencing hearing wasn't immediately available.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...rt_river_index
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Convicted killer of Deshler High coach gets life in prison

    By Crystal Bonvillian
    AL.com

    A man convicted of murder in the 2013 slaying of a Deshler High School coach has been sentenced to live in prison.

    Jeremy Lashun Williams, 31, of Florence was convicted in November of the intentional murder of 27-year-old Brioni Jamaal Rutland. AL.com news partner WHNT News 19 reports that Williams got life with the possibility of parole.

    Rutland, a volunteer coach at Deshler, was stabbed more than 70 times and shot in the eye before his body was dumped into the Tennessee River. Williams killed him after Rutland went to his apartment seeking payment of a gambling debt.

    Williams claimed at trial that he acted in self-defense after Rutland attacked him and tried to cut off one of his fingers. The prosecution disputed those claims, however, accusing Williams of taking $1,100 from Rutland before throwing his body off Old Railroad Bridge in Sheffield.

    A witness testified that he, his wife and his grandson were on a post-Thanksgiving meal walk when they found a pool of blood on the bridge and called police. Divers retrieved Rutland's body from the Tennessee River three days after his slaying.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...rt_river_index
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Appeal denied for man convicted in murder of Shoals coach

    By Jonathan Grass
    WAFF News

    FLORENCE, AL - The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of Jeremy Leshun Williams.

    Williams, 32, of Florence was convicted in November of 2015 for the murder of Brioni “Bree” Rutland. Rutland was a volunteer coach at Deshler High School,

    Prosecutors say Williams shot Rutland in his left eye then stabbed him 68 times in Florence. Evidence showed that Williams dumped Rutland’s body into the Tennessee River off the old Railroad Bridge in the Sheffield area.

    Attorneys said the attacked resulted from an argument over a gambling debt.

    Williams was sentenced to life in prison for his murder conviction. He subsequently tried to have his conviction reversed on appeal.

    http://www.waff.com/story/34449408/a...f-shoals-coach
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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