'I want justice' -- Victim's mom to attend capital murder trial
Sep. 28—The mother of a man killed in 2019 can no longer be with her son, and she's confident that after a Nov. 30 trial a jury will likewise prevent the capital murder defendant's parents from being with their son.
Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott this week scheduled the trial date for Zachary Bernard Williams, 33, of Hartselle. Williams and co-defendant Ulysses Ke'Andre Wilkerson, 22, of Decatur, are accused of killing Michael Wayne Irvin Jr., 30, of Decatur, in his Marion Street Southwest home in February 2019.
"I want justice, and I want a life sentence for (Williams)," Ann Irvin, the victim's mother, said Monday after attending the scheduling hearing. "I've had many sleepless nights since 'Dooney' was killed."
Ann Irvin said her son, nicknamed Dooney, was the father of three children, and "he wouldn't hurt a flea."
She said she is confident justice will prevail and a jury will convict Williams.
"(Williams') parents can go visit him in the jail to see him," she said. "I have to go to the cemetery to visit my son."
Court-appointed defense attorneys for Williams, Nick Heatherly and Robert Tuten of Huntsville, are working toward a trial outcome different than that sought by Ann Irvin.
"There's going to be a trial," Tuten said. "We'll be ready."
Court records show 61 people have been identified as potential witnesses at the trial.
Williams and Wilkerson were each indicted on three counts of capital murder in Irvin's death. Irvin's 4-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son were in the home at the time, according to police affidavits, and the daughter witnessed the killing.
"The man was fighting with Daddy. The man shot Daddy. Daddy died," the 4-year-old told a counselor at the Child Advocacy Center, Decatur police Detective Sean Mukaddam testified at the preliminary hearing for the two defendants.
Passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2018, Hollie's Law adds to the list of factors that can elevate a felony murder charge to capital murder.
It is a capital offense, according to the law, to commit murder in the presence of a child under 14 if the victim is the parent or legal guardian of the child. The maximum penalty for non-capital murder is life without parole. The maximum penalty for capital murder is the death penalty.
Hollie's Law is named after Hollie Newbury, of Florence, who was shot and killed by her ex-husband, Christopher Rich, in December 2009 while her two young children were in the car. Rich ultimately pleaded guilty to capital murder, a charge that was based on the allegation that he was stealing the car at the time of the murder.
In addition to the Hollie's Law charge, Williams and Wilkerson are charged with a count of committing a murder after unlawfully entering Irvin's home and a count of killing him while committing an armed theft, either of which if proved would elevate a felony murder to capital murder.
According to police affidavits, the defendants kicked in Irvin's door and shot him 11 times in an effort to steal cash Irvin kept at the house. A roll of duct tape found in the house had Wilkerson's DNA on it, according to police.
Wilkerson denied involvement in the shooting, police said at the preliminary hearing. Wilkerson told police he may have touched the tape while it was in Williams' car. Wilkerson's trial date has not been scheduled. Both Wilkerson and Williams remain in the Morgan County Jail.
— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.
