Inset: Laquandra Williams (Columbus Division of Police). Background: Authorities responding to the scene where she shot and killed her son (WBNS)
A 45-year-old mother in Ohio may spend the rest of her days behind bars for killing her 21-year-old son, shooting him dead after her attempt to stab him was thwarted by multiple others.
Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard E. Berens on Monday ordered Laquandra Williams to serve a sentence of life in prison with the opportunity for parole after 18 years for the slaying of Jahaad Hughes, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Berens handed down the sentence after Williams reached a deal with prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to one count of murder and one count of assault in connections with her son’s death earlier this year. She had been scheduled to begin her jury trial on Aug. 13, 2024.
“No sentence imposed by the court will fill the void left by the senseless murder of Jahaad Hughes at his mother’s hand,” Fairfield County Prosecutor Kyle Witt said in a statement following the hearing. “But Laquandra Williams has been held to answer for her crimes, and justice was served here today when she was sentenced to life in prison.”
As previously reported, police said that the fatal incident took place on the afternoon of Feb. 19, 2024. Officers at about 1:45 p.m. responded to call about shots fired outside an apartment complex in the 2800 block of Drew Heights Place in Reynoldsburg, a medium-sized suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found Hughes unresponsive on the ground suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Paramedics rushed the victim to nearby Mount Carmel East Hospital where he arrived in critical condition. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 3:03 p.m. by the medical staff.
Prosecutors said that Williams shot her son in the back as he was leaving the apartment.
