By Julian March & Kevin Maurer
Published: Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 7:41 a.m.
Bond was set at $1 million Wednesday for a former Marine charged with second-degree homicide after he allegedly killed his wife at their home in Castle Hayne.
William Keith Waters, 48, was being held at the New Hanover County jail.
Authorities said Kay Humbles Waters, 56, was killed at 3525 Hanover Ave.
In court Wednesday morning, District Attorney Ben David said authorities believed she may have been killed with a knife.
After deputies brought Waters into court, he stood quietly before Judge Sandra Ray Criner, who assigned him a court date of Dec. 15. A domestic violence detective and an assistant district attorney who specializes in domestic violence flanked him.
"This defendant has an extensive history of domestic violence," David said.
In early 2009, he was convicted of assault by strangulation. Kay Waters was also the victim in that case.
William Waters, a combat veteran, has a history of bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol dependence, David said.
He has a history of violating domestic violence protective orders in Florida, as well as two documented charges of driving under the influence, David said.
The District Attorney's Office is also assessing possible additional charges. If investigators believe Waters acted with premeditation and deliberation, his charge could be upped to first-degree murder before his next court appearance.
Waters looked down at the floor as Criner set his bond. When she asked if he wanted to be heard, he looked up and said, "No."
On Tuesday at 3:21 p.m., Waters' son Brian Waters, who lives in South Carolina, dialed 911 and told a dispatcher he wanted to report a possible homicide.
When the dispatcher asked what made him think it was a homicide, he said his father told him in a phone call at 4:30 that morning.
"After I told him I was going to get the authorities involved, he told me that, you know, he didn't do it," Waters told the dispatcher. "The only reason that I didn't call it in was because it's kind of not unlike him to do things of this nature, as bizarre as it sounds."
Later in the call, Brian Waters said his father told him he had stabbed Kay Waters.
"He mentioned at one point he put her in the bed and then at one point he said he had her on ice," he said. "So, I would assume, maybe a bathtub."
The sheriff's office has not disclosed where the body was found or what caused Kay Waters' death. The time of her death is also unclear. The sheriff's office, citing the ongoing investigation, would not say when she was allegedly attacked or what time she died.
It was not the first time police have been called to the Waters home. Law enforcement has been dispatched to the address eight times since 2008, according to the sheriff's office.
Neighbors said police have answered several calls for domestic violence.
"It is just a shame," said Sherry Jones, who lives a few houses from the Waters home on the rural dirt road. "It has been an ongoing thing. She knew what he was like. This didn't have to happen. She should have stayed away from him."
Patsy Humbles, Kay Waters' sister-in-law, lives next door. She declined to comment, saying detectives from the sheriff's office asked the family not to talk to the media.
There was no one at the Waters home Wednesday morning. All of the crime scene tape was gone, except for a small bow tied around a tree in the front yard. Two trucks – a black Chevy and a red Dodge – were parked in the driveway. It appeared the couple were finished decorating for Christmas. A deflated decoration lay on the front lawn.
Neighbors offered few details about the couple or the incident.
Jones said William Waters was known as "Gunney," which is short for gunnery sergeant, a senior enlisted rank in the Marine Corps. It is unclear how long he served in the Marine Corps.
The couple did not have any children at the house, Jones said.
Julian March: 343-2099
On Twitter: @julian_march
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