Steven Williams stood in front of Judge Karen Howze this afternoon as she found “substantial probability” that Williams murdered June Grace Lim this past June.
Williams, who is currently serving a sentence for a parole violation, was ordered held after Howze found Williams a “danger to the community.”
According to charging documents, Lim was found lying on the floor behind the counter of Grace Deli, which she owned, shortly after 6 a.m. on June 14. An autopsy later found that the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the back of her neck. An empty handgun holster laid inches from her body, according to government documents.
During examination of the crime scene, police recovered DNA from both the holster and the cash drawer from the register. A DNA profile later identified Williams as having handled the holster.
On August 23, MPD arrested Williams for violating parole, and Williams was transported to the Homicide Branch, where he was advised of his rights, according to the documents. Detectives informed Williams of their intent to search his residence, and asked him for a cheek swab.
Meanwhile, the case jacket for Lim’s murder laid in plain view within an arm’s reach of Williams, the documents state. The face of the jacket included Lim’s name and the date and location of her murder.
Williams stared directly at the case jacket for approximately 20 seconds; he then denied the cheek swab, according to the documents.
Williams was then left alone in the interview room where he was observed saying to himself, “That’s a wrap, big boy. That’s a wrap, big boy. Yeah, okay. That’s 30 year…” according to the documents. The last part of Williams sentence trailed off.
Police later obtained a search warrant for Williams’ DNA, and it was confirmed a match to both the cash register drawer and the gun holster.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 17.
