Greenville, SC: Investigators Say Natasha Kerns' Children Were Home When It Happened

Myra Ruiz, WYFF News 4 Reporter
POSTED: 5:37 pm EDT September 1, 2010
UPDATED: 1:18 am EDT September 2, 2010
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- More details emerged in court Wednesday morning in a case against a Greenville County man charged in the death of his ex-wife and the shooting of her male friend.
Willie Marvin Williams, 44, is charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
At a preliminary hearing, a homicide investigator testified that Williams' estranged wife, Natasha Kerns, 28, was in the process of divorcing Williams and seeking a protection order against him.
Investigator Eric Whaley, with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, said Kerns called 911 early in the morning and asked for a deputy to patrol around her home on Idlewild Avenue.
Whaley testified that Kerns told the dispatcher she saw Williams outside.
"That's when she told the dispatcher to 'Hold on, he's looking in.' At that time you hear a noise, which appears to be a gunshot," Whaley said. "It appears that a bullet had traveled through the window and struck her in the head."
Kerns' body was found in the living room by the phone and window, Whaley said.
Kerns' two young children -- a 9-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter -- were in the home when it happened but did not see their mother getting shot, said Whaley.
A deputy at the scene took the children into a patrol car, Whaley testified, and turned on the in-car camera while questioning the child.
"The 9-year-old stated to law enforcement that Will Marvin -- as he calls Willie Williams -- broke into his home and killed his mom," said Whaley.
Williams is also charged in the shooting Kerns' friend, Anthony Wilson, who was staying at the home. Deputies found him lying in a child's bedroom.
"He had a gunshot wound to the head," Whaley testified. "At first he was nonresponsive, but he did come to a little and was transported to Greenville Memorial."
Whaley said that Wilson later said he scuffled with a man in the hallway and wound up in the bedroom but could not identify the man who shot him.
Kerns' son, however, told deputies he saw what happened.
"Did the 9-year-old offer information about who shot Mr. Wilson?" Townes Jones, Williams' defense attorney, asked Whaley.
"Yes, it was 'Will Marvin,' as the 9-year-old calls him," replied Whaley.
Prosecutor Judy Munson asked Whaley about the ballistics evidence.
Whaley said projectiles recovered from Wilson's shooting are still being tested, but it appears they match the same caliber weapon that was used to kill Kerns.
Whaley said no weapon was found, but ammunition was removed from Williams' home for testing. Forensic testing continues, Whaley said, on other evidence removed from the crime scene.
Williams was arrested the same day of the shootings in the city of Laurens, following a chase involving both Laurens County deputies and police officers.
"After he was involved in that traffic incident, it was determined that he had stabbed himself in the chest and that's the reason he was taken to the hospital with a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest," said Whaley.
Whaley said Williams told family members and a friend that he killed Kerns.