The horrific details surrounding a Lacy Lakeview woman's death are now unfolding.
26-year-old Arlicia Williams was found dead off the side of a rural Hill County road Friday afternoon and now, her ex-boyfriend says he ran over her twice, then abandoned the body.
32-year-old Joseph Jones confessed to the crime late Wednesday night, in his third round of interviews with investigators. They say his story was not matching up with the evidence and once they showed him surveillance video, he made a confession.
The timeline between Williams' disappearance last Wednesday and the discovery of her body Friday has been full of questions. But now, hard evidence is clearing up many unknowns.
A makeshift memorial now marks the spot off F-M 308 and HCR 3150 between Penelope and Malone, where a farmer found Williams' body. Wes Collins is the lead investigator in this case with the Hill County Sheriff's Office. He says the body was found off a lightly traveled county road. " It was on the edge of a corn field," he says, "next to a fence line where there was a line of trees."
The body was so badly decomposed, one neighbor told us off-camera that she mistook it for an animal when she drove by on Friday morning.
Once the body was found, Collins says his team of sheriff's investigators and Lacy Lakeview police zeroed in on Williams' ex-boyfriend as a suspect.
Video surveillance showed the pair together last Wednesday morning, the day Williams went missing. Around 10:45 a.m., Williams and Jones were seen at the Bellmead Wal-Mart. Then, around 11:00, the pair was caught on surveillance camera at the Cefco in West.
Investigators say the next stop was the Motel 6 in Hillsboro. A credit card receipt shows that Williams and Jones checked in, using Williams' card. "And at that point, that was the last time that anybody had seen her," says Collins.
Jones confessed late Wednesday night that he killed Williams, running her over twice after they got into an argument between Penelope and Malone. "He said he ran over her, backed up and according to him to check on her, but accidentally ran over her again," says Collins.
Jones then told investigators that he panicked and left Williams' body.
Surveillance video that afternoon from a fried pie shop, Exxon and Valero all show Jones circling the parking lot in Williams' car, then parking it at a Comfort Inn adjacent to those properties.
Investigators found the abandoned car Sunday night, with blood on the underbody and a tire. Collins also says the front hood area had been wiped clean,, while the rest of the car was dirty.
The evidence in this case is mounting, but Collins says there is only one person who knows the truth about Williams' death and that makes this investigation more challenging. " Sadly there's only one person right now that's gonna be able to fill in all the pieces and whether or not he's gonna do that, we don't know.," says Collins.
The lead investigator in this case said Joseph Jones seemed remorseful in his confession and was very emotional. Jones is expected to be charged with murder.
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