Columbus, OH: Man who killed his girlfriend gets 18 years

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 2:51 AM
BY KATHY LYNN GRAY
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Woman killed on North Side (Oct. 7, 2009)
A North Side man is to spend the next 18 years in prison for shooting and killing his girlfriend in October.

Judge Julie M. Lynch sentenced Ronald B. Williams, 28, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court yesterday for killing Chaunta' Serrano, 21, in her apartment at 4286 Dresden St.

"I don't know what type of man would do such a horrific act," Serrano's father, Melendez Carter, said in court. "He is not human. He is a heartless monster."

Williams, formerly of Vesta Avenue, pleaded guilty March 8 to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. He had been charged with murder.

He was sentenced to 10years for voluntary manslaughter, five years for having a weapon after a drug conviction and three years for using a gun. The sentences will be served consecutively, Lynch ruled.

Williams shot Serrano in the head after an argument on Oct. 7. Her father said Serrano had decided to break up with Williams because he had been cheating on her. That's what the couple was arguing about, he said.

Serrano lived in the North Side apartment with her three young children and an aunt. Williams is not the father of the children.

Court records show that Williams had pleaded guilty in recent years to drug, gun and stolen-property charges.

kgray@dispatch.com