Baltimore, MD: Trial begins of community leader charged in wife's death

From Baltimore Sun reporter Tricia Bishop:
The murder trial of Cleaven L. Williams Jr. — who's accused of fatally stabbing his pregnant wife outside a Baltimore courthouse in 2008 — began Friday morning with attorneys arguing whether the autopsy photos could be shown to jurors.

Veronica L. Williams was stabbed seven times in her face and neck, and the images taken by the medical examiner are described as graphic, showing wounds stretched wide to measure their depth."They're very shocking," said defense attorney Melissa Phinn. She contends that the photographs would prejudice jurors against her client, while prosecutor Kevin Wiggins said they are necessary to show "the extent of the injuries." The judge said he would allow them to be presented, with portions blocked out.

You may remember this case for another reason: the suspect was shot by a Baltimore police officer moments after the stabbing, and a witness urged the cop to fire again. The stabbing occurred just as the victim left court to obtain a protective order.

And later, a police commander was accused of sending text messages to the suspect, who was well known as a community activist and who went on police crime walks, as police were trying to serve an arrest warrant on him. The deputy major was later cleared but police studied whether the warrant for Williams had been handled outside normal procedures.

Reporter Melissa Harris, who is no longer at The Sun, wrote a long story on the Williams case.It includes this chilling account of the stabbing and the shooting of the suspect, picking up just as the victim was leaving court on East North Avenue:

So at 3:52 p.m. on Nov. 17, Veronica typed to her cousin: "Court over. Leaving now."Her cousin replied: "Call me as soon as you get in the car and before you pick up the kids."Her cousin sent another message around 4 p.m.; a third one at 4:15 with "!!!!???!!!"; the next at 4:25, "Where r u?"; and again 10 minutes later, "call me ASAP."Around 4:45 p.m., she called Veronica and left a message: "If you don't call me back in 1 minute, I'm going to call 911."

Shana Samero, 25, was sitting at a red light across from the courthouse just before 4 p.m. when she saw a man in a tan jumpsuit dart across traffic. He tackled a woman on the sidewalk and began slashing at her. Samero dialed 911 and rolled down her window to listen. A police officer driving by pulled up. Cars began blocking Samero's view. She heard the officer order the man to stop and then the crackling noise of a Taser. "Put the knife down! Put the knife down!" Pop, pop - a gun fired twice. The light changed. Samero floored it, pulling into the Walgreen's across from the courthouse. A man had wrapped his shirt around the knife victim's bleeding neck, but, to Samero's horror, the rest of the crowd stood there gawking. She pulled the stranger between her knees, cradled her head against her breast and began applying pressure to her neck and stomach wounds."Stay with me, stay with me," Samero told the stranger.Veronica's eyes fluttered. She was going. She reached up and grabbed Samero's face. And then she passed out.

The attacker tried to get up. "Don't move," Officer Joshua Laycock ordered as he reloaded his Taser. Laycock had shot the man at least once. He warned Samero that the man still had a knife. Samero, soaked with blood, wanted to step on the attacker's wounds to inflict more pain."Kill the son of a bitch," Samero told Laycock. The attacker raised his head and said, "Please do."