DeLand-area man who shot ex-wife and her son over electricity guilty of murder

An ex-Marine was found guilty Friday of murdering his ex-wife and her son during a confrontation over electricity in a house they shared near DeLand.

Michael Williams, 48, was convicted as charged of two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm and will face up to life in prison for gunning down his ex-wife, Marsha Ebanks-Williams, 48, and her son, Robert Adams, 28, two years ago near DeLand.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

A six-member jury of four women and two men returned the verdict Friday in Circuit Judge Randell Rowe III's courtroom at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.

Even though they were divorced, Williams and his ex-wife were still living in the home on East Parkway near DeLand. Under the terms of the divorce, Ebanks-Williams had until the end of 2022 to either sell the home and split the proceeds with her ex-husband or buy him out. Her son, Adams, was also staying there. The ex-wife and son had their own rooms while Williams was sleeping on the couch.

According to Michael Williams, his ex-wife and her son picked on him by turning on all the lights in the house and making a racket while he tried to sleep. The situation exploded in violence on the night of Sept. 18, 2022, when Williams said he was attacked and fatally shot the other two.

Adams' children, a boy and a girl, 5 and 6 at the time, witnessed the killings.

The children lived in Tallahassee but were visiting their father who was separated from their mother.

Williams, a real estate agent and ex-Marine, took the stand Thursday and testified that he had met his ex-wife in church and they had been married for nearly 10 years.

Assistant Public Defender Jessica Roberts, who along with Assistant Public Defenders Courtney Davison and Larry Avallone were representing Williams, questioned him.

Williams said the day before the shooting, Ebanks-Williams and Adams had turned on all the lights in the house and started cleaning around 11 p.m. even though they knew he was trying to sleep.

The next day, a Sunday, Ebanks-Williams, Adams and his two children went to church.

Once they left, Michael Williams said he locked up the house, turned off the power and locked the breaker box. He testified that wanted to force Ebanks-Williams to call him to talk about resolving issues over the house. He said they were supposed to split the bills in half, but when he asked for her share of an electric bill, she did not pay it.

He said he drove to Orlando and the alarm company sent a notification via phone that something was amiss at the house, but he couldn't get further information. He drove back to the house.

Michael Williams said he got in the house and was going to the garage when Ebanks-Williams tried to block his path. He used his forearm to keep her away and her son warned him not to touch his mother. Then Michael Williams said Ebanks-Williams struck him with what he compared to a football-like tackle.

He said he heard his ex-wife tell Adams to "get him." He said both were attacking him. Michael Williams said Adams then went for his gun which Williams carried concealed in a holster on his waist.

Michael Williams became emotional as he said he pulled his gun and shot Adams. He said he was not sure if he hit him at first. He said he also shot Ebanks-Williams.

He said he did not want to shoot them and only did so as a last resort to save his own life.

Assistant State Attorney Mark Interlicchio questioned Michael Williams.

Interlicchio showed the jurors pictures of Michael Williams taken by the Volusia Sheriff's Office immediately after the shooting. Michael Williams' face was clear of any bruising or signs of a fight. He had only a small scratch above his mouth. He also appeared to have a redness on a portion of his torso.

Interlicchio also showed a picture of the back of Michael Williams' head which did not appear to have any injuries. Williams on the stand said since that night he had developed a bump on the back of his head.

Ebanks-Williams and Adams were each shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the face.

"You said Robert reached for your gun and that's why you shot him ... you never told the detective that during the interview," Interlicchio asked him.

Williams said his memory was spotty regarding some parts of the conflict and said several times he had been fasting, which affected him.

"I could tell them that I was being threatened, I feared for my life but I couldn't tell them how," Michael Williams said.

Boy testifies

The 6-year-old boy testified Thursday under questioning by Avallone. The small boy practically disappeared in the witness stand with only his head visible from the gallery.

The boy said he did not remember his grandmother hitting Michael Williams in the head. But Avallone then played a video of the boy's interview with a child protection team member after the shooting. In the video, he said his grandmother hit Michael Williams in the head.

The child also answered yes when Avallone asked him whether his dad and his grandmother had started the fight. He also answered yes when he was asked whether his grandmother and dad were hitting and kicking Michael Williams.

Prosecutor: Shooting was motivated by anger

Assistant Public Defender Roberts argued that Michael Williams had no choice but to shoot the pair because he feared for his life.

She said when a deputy first encountered the children they didn’t say that Michael Williams killed their dad. They said there was a fight.

She said that Ebanks-Williams and Adams provoked Michael Williams to try to get him to move out and when that didn’t work, they attacked him.

She said that while Michael Williams did not have a lot of injuries, injuries aren't required to act in self-defense.

During his closing statement, Interlicchio said that the young boy didn't understand at that age what he had witnessed. But Interlicchio said the testimony from the now 7-year-old girl fit other testimony.

The girl testified earlier in the trial that her grandmother struck Michael Williams after he shot her father.

Michael Williams never mentioned that Adams went for his gun when he first talked to deputies right after the shooting, Interlicchio said. Instead he told deputies that it was two-on-one, Adams was bigger than him and they didn’t get along, Interlicchio said.

Michael Williams was simply angry that his ex-wife and her son had managed to get in the house and turn the power back on despite his locking the place up, the prosecutor said.

“He was so upset, so angry he shot and killed both of them,” Interlicchio said, “There was no reason to do it.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man who shot ex-wife, her son over electricity guilty of murder