65-year-old woman stabbed by partner during SWAT standoff, police say
Police arrest man in connection to SWAT stand-off, death of woman he 'met in church'
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a fact not lost on the family and neighbors of a 65-year-old victim who was stabbed to death by a man who she was said to have met in church. Now police and her loved ones are searching for answers.
ATLANTA - Atlanta's homicide investigators have arrested the man wanted for the murder of a woman found stabbed after a SWAT standoff Friday night in Northwest Atlanta.
70-year-old Curtis Lilly was apprehended at the scene. Investigators established probable cause and arrest warrants for Lilly through Fulton County.
A neighbor of the victim, identified as 65-year-old Casandra Williams by the medical examiner’s office, said she had come to her to asking for help in escaping the domestic violence.
Atlanta police identified 65-year-old Cassandra Williams as the woman who was stabbed to death during a SWAT standoff with the police. Officers have arrested the man they believe to have been her killer. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
WOMAN FOUND STABBED TO DEATH IN NW ATLANTA HOME WHERE SWAT ARRESTS MAN, POLICE SAY
Atlanta police responded just after 8 Saturday night on a welfare check of 65-year-old Cassandra Williams at a small complex on the 2000 block of North Avenue Northwest.
The incident turned into a SWAT stand-off when Lilly barricaded himself inside.
After gaining entry and taking this man into custody police said they discovered a woman stabbed to death in the unit, identified as 65-year-old Cassandra Williams by the Medical Examiners Office.
Tonya Wright, a neighbor across the street, told FOX 5 reporter George Franco about three ago, Ms. Williams came to her asking for help.
"It seems she was running for her life. She was battered because he had [thrown] her clothes outside right there," said Wright. "I asked her why don’t you go to the women’s battered shelter?"
Wright said Williams never went.
The neighbor said she understood Williams was in danger because she escaped from domestic violence with her four children a few years back.
"Everyone called her mom because she treated everyone as if they were her own," said Williams' son, Taurus Baker.
He said she left behind five adult children, eight grandchildren, lots of friends and a host of hurt souls.
Tomiko Lowry Pugh CEO of the nonprofit Still Standing Alliance, which focuses on helping victims of domestic violence and educating the public, said Williams death is a reminder to others in similar situations to have a plan to get out safely.
"Sometimes, it’s that one decision that we make that’s going to change our life forever," said Pugh. "So if you feel like you’re stuck you can reach out to an Organization like the Still Standing Alliance."
Taurus Baker said he was the one who called police and fire departments after he went to the home and was threatened by his mother's domestic partner.
Now his mother is gone.
"She was the lighthouse of our family," Baker said. "She kept us intact."