Columbia man charged with first-degree murder to be in court Monday
Jazsmin Halliburton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man charged with first-degree murder will be in the Boone County Courthouse Monday morning in connection with a deadly shooting in 2023.
John L. Williamson III, of Columbia, will have a pre-trial conference hearing at 9 a.m. before his jury trial, which is set to begin May 20 in front of Judge Stephanie Morrell.
Williamson is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon after he was accused of killing Azairah Brownlee, 27, of Columbia in December 2023.
She was found lying on the ground Friday night with a gunshot wound to the neck, according to a probable cause statement. Police wrote that a witness to the shooting on Typhoon Court had tried to stanch the bleeding by applying pressure with a cloth.
Officers tried to save Brownlee, but she died at the hospital, according to the Columbia Police Department.
According to the statement, a witness told police that Williamson was Brownlee’s ex-boyfriend. Williamson jumped into the bed of the truck that Brownlee and the witness were sitting in and began yelling, the statement says.
Brownlee got out and she and Williamson fell to the ground during a struggle, the witness allegedly told officers. The witness heard a gunshot, then Williamson told the witness that he had shot Brownlee dead, according to the statement.