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Murder of Christina Marie Williams

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1998 child murder in Seaside, California
Christina Marie Williams
Portrait of Christina Marie Williams
Born(1985-05-01)May 1, 1985
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
DiedJune 12, 1998(1998-06-12) (aged 13)
Seaside, California, U.S.
Cause of deathHomicide of undetermined etiology
Body discoveredJanuary 12, 1999
NationalityAmerican
Known forMurder victim

Christina Marie Williams (May 1, 1985 – June 12, 1998) was a 13-year-old American girl who was kidnapped in Seaside, California, on June 12, 1998, while walking her dog Greg in an area of Fort Ord.

Life

Williams was born in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, to a Filipino mother and an American father who was a chief petty officer in the United States Navy. She attended Fitch Middle School in Seaside, California, at the time of her abduction. Before moving to California, Williams and her family lived at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. It was the first time the family had lived in the mainland United States.

Kidnapping

Williams left her home at around 7:30 p.m. PDT. Greg returned home an hour later trailing his leash. The case attracted widespread, national media attention.

Exactly seven months later, on January 12, 1999, a body was found on the former Fort Ord Army base about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Williams' home. The remains were positively identified as those of Christina Williams. The area where she was found had been searched previously, but nothing had been found. The person who found Williams' body was a botanist from the University of California, Santa Cruz who was conducting a scientific survey.

Sketches of people suspected of the abduction, a man in his late teens and one in his early twenties, were widely released in the media but they did not help in identification of the suspects.

Aftermath

Several celebrities, including Clint Eastwood, Mariah Carey, and Reggie Jackson, made a public service announcement for Williams. Her case was also aired on America's Most Wanted. Williams was survived by her parents and two siblings. Many people, including Williams' former friends in Japan, were affected by her abduction. Her family later moved to Florida. Investigators focused their efforts on finding a 1980s Mercury Monarch or Ford Granada car. In 2006, the still-open case was featured on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°. Up to US$100,000 has been offered for information leading to those responsible for her death.

The City of Marina erected a memorial in Williams' honor located at 15520 Imjin Road, across from Preston Park. At the University of California, Berkeley a scholarship in her name was established by a philanthropist.

The case was profiled on ID's On the Case with Paula Zahn, in an episode titled Christina's Story.

Suspect and arrest

Charles Holifield, a suspect in Williams' murder, was in prison for attempted kidnapping and raping teenage girls. In 2011, an ex-girlfriend of Holifield recanted an alibi for Holifield she made in 1998, saying she had previously been threatened with harm if she withdrew it. In 2016, DNA found on Williams' clothing matched Holifield's DNA. On April 6, 2017, the District Attorney of Monterey County announced that Holifield would be arrested and charged with the murder. A death penalty trial for Holifield was originally set for October 2019 but was delayed. In December 2019, Holifield waived his right to a trial by jury, in order to remove the possibility of receiving the death penalty; in addition Holifield waived his rights to writs and appeals. On March 2, 2020, the non-jury trial began; on March 16, the defense team began their portion of the trial. On March 20, Judge Pamela Butler found Holifield guilty of the murder of Williams, with two special circumstances; he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

See also

References

  1. Filipinas. Filipinas Pub. 1998. p. 225.
    "Body found in Northern California is not missing girl". CNN. 25 June 1998. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  2. ^ Lite, Jordan (9 August 1998). "Missing Girl's Family Refuses to Surrender Hopes for Her Safety". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  3. Rojas, Aurelio; Gaura, Maria Alicia; Finz, Stacy (26 June 1998). "Slain Woman Was Raped, Officials Say / Records confirm body not missing Seaside girl". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2015. Christina's mother is a Filipina American.
  4. ^ Finz, Stacy; Fagan, Kevin (15 January 1999). "Remains Identified as Christina / Seaside parents receive sad answer on missing daughter". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  5. "FBI Searches for Girl, 13, Near Ft. Ord". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 17 June 1998. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  6. Emily G. Thompson (3 November 2017). Unsolved Child Murders: Eighteen American Cases, 1956–1998. Exposit Books. pp. 205–218. ISBN 978-1-4766-3056-4.
  7. ^ "Christina Williams Foundation raising money for Sierra Lamar". KSBW. Salinas, California: Monterey Hearst Television Inc. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  8. Zamora, Jim Herron (18 January 2000). "Missing cases bring out best". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
    Finz, Stacy (12 January 2000). "Christina Williams' Family Waits for Answers in Slaying". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  9. Wright, Tom (5 March 2020). "Witnesses testify about finding Christina Williams' remains during Charles Holifield murder trial". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  10. "Bay Area child kidnapping cases during era of Jaycee Lee Dugard abduction". Contra Costa Times. 27 August 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
    Thurman, Chuck (16 November 2000). "There were no signs of forced entry, and testimony from more than 100 people paint a profile of Mooren as someone who was particularly security conscious". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  11. "Actor Joins Search For Missing Girl". CBS News. 13 July 1998. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  12. "FBI discovers tragic end to case of missing Mariah fan". Mariah Carey archives. The Mariah Carey Archives. 16 January 1999. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  13. Devlin, Colonel Daniel (February 2015). "Globe" (PDF). Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Presidio of Monterey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  14. "Friends observe anniversary of Christina Williams's abduction". San Diego Union Tribune. Associated Press. 13 June 2003. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  15. Pimentel, Benjamin; Finz, Stacey (13 January 1999). "Decomposed Body Found Near Fort Ord / Remains 2 miles from Christina Williams' Home". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  16. "FBI's Mystery Case Files". CNN. 13 March 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  17. "Seeking Information". FBI. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
    Simon, Mark (22 February 2001). "Extra Feet Get Extra Sympathy / Fellow feeling nowadays is flying out the window". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2015. The reward fund for Christina Williams, the Gilroy girl who disappeared and was murdered, reached $100,000.
  18. Taylor, Dennis (10 April 2015). "Navy volunteers clean up Christina Williams memorial". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  19. "Philanthropist keeps memories of fallen youth alive through scholarships". UC Berkeley News Center. UC Regents. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  20. Copp, Dan (9 January 2021). "Local writer to appear Sunday on cable television true-crime show". The Houma Courier. Houma, Louisiana. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  21. Hennessey, Virginia (6 September 2009). "FBI raid in Seaside linked to Christina Williams case". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2015. An imprisoned sex offender, Charles Holifield, 48, has been identified as the chief suspect in the slaying of Williams, a 13-year-old Fort Ord resident.
    "Law enforcers: Jennifer Morris, Christina Williams may have been slain by same person". KSBW. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  22. "Father of suspect in Christina Williams' murder faces grand jury over e-mail to victim's parents". Enchemendia Law Firm. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
    Hennessey, Virginia (27 January 2010). "Christina Williams grand jury to subpoena mom, reporter". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  23. Hennessey, Virginia (4 December 2011). "Woman recants alibi for Charles Holifield in Christina Williams case". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  24. Coury, Nic (18 January 2018). "Prosecutors lay out evidence in 20-year-old murder case of Christina Williams". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
    Wright, Tom (23 February 2018). "Charles Holifield, charged with 1998 murder of Christina Williams, appears in court". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
    Adami, Chelcey (6 April 2017). "Suspect to be charged in Christina Wiliams'[sic] murder". The Californian. Salinas. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  25. "Salinas: Suspect to be charged in 1998 slaying of Christina Williams". Mercury News. Santa Clara County. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
    "Rapist to be charged for 1998 murder of Fil-Am teen in Monterey". Philippines Daily Inquirer. Associated Press. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
    Bucher, Chris (6 April 2017). "Charles Holifield: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. New York City. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  26. Wright, Tom (31 August 2018). "Holifield murder case to begin October 2019, 21 years after Christina Williams went missing". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    Wright, Tom (3 September 2019). "Charles Holifield murder trial moved to March 2020". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  27. Wright, Tom (11 December 2019). "Charles Holifield waives right to jury trial and appeals, no longer facing death penalty". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  28. Johnson, Avery (20 March 2020). "Holifield found guilty of 1998 rape, murder of Seaside girl". KION. Monterey. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  29. Wright, Tom (2 March 2020). "Charles Holifield murder trial set to begin Monday". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  30. Wright, Tom (16 March 2020). "Defense team starts to present case at Charles Holifield murder trial". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  31. Wright, Tom (21 March 2020). "Judge finds Charles Holifield guilty in the 1998 murder of Christina Williams". Monterey Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
    Copitch, Josh; Linville, Kyla (20 March 2020). "Verdict reached in 1998 Fort Ord murder of 13-year-old Christina Williams". KSBW. Salinas. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  32. "Charles Holifield Convicted of 1998 Murder, Sentenced to Life in Prison". California Statewide Law Enforcement Association. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020. Holifield was convicted following a 10-day court trial and was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
    "Conviction In 1998 Murder, Kidnap, Sexual Assault Of Monterey Teen Christina Williams". KPIX. Sam Francisco. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

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