Man pleaded guilty to rape, murder of girl he took from Columbus. Why he’s on trial this week

Kelby Hutchison
·2 min read
24

The trial for the man who pleaded guilty to strangling, murdering, and raping a 5-year-old is set to begin this week in Russell County, Alabama.

Jury selection began Monday for the case involving Jeremy Tremaine Williams, 39, who is set to stand trial in the December 2021 murder of 5-year-old Kamarie Holland. Williams already pleaded guilty to capital murder and other felonies, but Alabama law dictates that a case carrying the death penalty cannot be resolved by pleading guilty. He has to go to trial, and his pleas can be used against him as evidence.

He pleaded guilty to these charges:

  • Capital murder for causing Kamarie’s death.

  • Capital murder for killing her in the course of kidnapping.

  • Capital murder for killing her while committing first-degree rape.

  • Capital murder for killing her while committing first-degree sodomy

In court on March 13, prosecutors said Williams paid $2,500 to Holland’s mother, Kristy Marie Siple, so he could make the child perform a sexual act.

Williams took Holland from Columbus to a vacant house in Phenix City, where he raped and sodomized the child with a rope around her neck before strangling her to death, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Williams then had sex with Holland’s corpse and recorded the entire incident on his cell phone. An autopsy later revealed Holland was under the influence of methamphetamine, according to prosecutors.

Williams entered a cold plea, meaning no deal was made by his attorneys regarding his sentence. Charles Floyd III, one of his attorneys, previously said Williams wanted to plead guilty from the beginning.

Circuit Judge David Johnson asked Williams why he was pleading guilty, after Williams acknowledged he could be executed.

Williams responded, “To expedite the process.”

Johnson asked whether Williams had a reason to expedite it.

Williams replied, “No sir.”

Siple also pleaded guilty in a separate hearing that preceded Williams’. She pleaded to human trafficking, for a sentence of 20 years in prison, and agreed to testify against Williams. Siple is 37.

Jury selection in Williams’ continued into Monday afternoon, and the trial was set to start afterward, potentially occupying much of the week.

Discussion from the parties in the proceeding has been scant. Johnson implemented a gag order in the case, prohibiting those involved from discussing evidence outside the courtroom.

‘He got what he wanted.’ Man pleads to raping, strangling girl he bought from GA mother