Last Modified: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 4:57 p.m.
The Thomasville man charged with the 1992 stabbing death of his former girlfriend pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Davidson County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Clyde Junior Billie, 61, of 700 1/2 Kahler St., was charged with the murder of Gloria Diane Williams.
Judge Tonya Wallace sentenced Billie to 15 years in prison.
On Aug. 13, 1992, police were called to 205-B South St. on reports of a stabbing. Inside they found Williams, 34, slumped in a bedroom chair with a stab wound to her chest. Williams was unresponsive and without a pulse.
While police were investigating the scene, Billie, who lived with Williams, re-entered the apartment. He told authorities he came home earlier to find Williams acting strange and ran five blocks away to Lowe’s to call for help.
Det. Steven Truell with the Thomasville Police said Billie was originally charged for Williams’ murder in 1992, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
After years with no activity, the case was reopened in March. Truell said he and Sgt. Dustin Carter investigated the case and, after reviewing the evidence, spoke to Billie again.
Truell said Billie confessed to killing Williams but said she attacked him first. He said when he returned home from work that day, Williams accused him of cheating on her.
“They argued, and he said he acted in self-defense,” Truell said.
Truell and Carter learned that Billie and Williams had a rocky relationship with a history of domestic violence. Billie argued Williams stabbed him, but prosecutors noted his response was excessively forceful.
“But I think the sentence fit the crime,” Truell said. “This was a crime of passion and not some well-planned-out process.”
Heather J. Smith can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 228, or at heatherj.smith@the-dispatch.com.
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