Omaha, NE: Family Gets Closure In 6-Year-Old Murder Case

Wesley Williams Sentenced In Death Of Tina Williams

POSTED: 3:06 pm CST November 2, 2009
UPDATED: 3:26 pm CST November 2, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. -- A Douglas County judge sentenced a man to 65 to 75 years in prison Monday for killing his estranged wife in front of their two children.
Wesley Williams will be eligible for parole in 35 years. He pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder after prosecutors presented him with plea deal.

Williams stabbed his wife Tina Williams at least 20 times in 2003 while the children were in the room. She had filed a protection order against he husband before she was killed.
The case included years of legal wrangling, including a ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court in February that Williams' right to a speedy trial had not been violated.
Several relatives of Tina William filed out of the courtroom Monday in tears.
"Let's not forget that Tina was young and a mother, she wanted nothing more than to be a mother," said family member Tracy Plymesser. "Those two children will have to live with that memory for the rest of their lives."
Defense Attorney Tom Riley said Wesley Williams was a product of an abusive upbringing, including a mother and a father who were addicted to drugs.
Riley told the judge the upbringing isn’t an excuse but it puts the case into perspective.
Riley said Wesley Williams felt guilty about the act and had turned himself in, and that should be considered.