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.
In an affidavit of probable cause, police wrote that Williams “approached” the officers who responded to the scene and “stated she shot her son.”
Authorities described the altercation between mother and child began as a “domestic incident” that escalated when Williams “grabbed a knife and attempted to stab her son.”
“Witnesses stated they attempted to help get the knife away from Laquandra Williams but [Hughes] was able to remove the weapon from her himself,” the affidavit states.
However, being disarmed only further angered Williams.
“I’m going to show you something,” she stated, according to the witnesses. Williams then went outside to her vehicle. Police said the witnesses and Hughes knew that Williams kept a handgun inside her vehicle, so they proceeded to lock her outside.
But Hughes was apparently intent on leaving. He had packed his bags and was heading out the door within a few minutes of his mother being locked outside.
“As [Hughes] left the residence, with his bags in hand, Laquandra Williams got out of her car and shot him at close range,” the affidavit states.
A neighbor who was looking out the window at the time also told police that they witnessed Williams shoot Hughes.
Williams was arrested without incident and transported to police headquarters where she confessed to the shooting once again during an interview with detectives, the affidavit alleges.
“My heart is so crushed, I never would’ve imagined this happening,” the sister of the victim — and daughter of the defendant — wrote on Facebook. “I lost my brother and my mom. If you’re dealing with a mental illness please go and get help.”
The grieving woman went on to remember her brother as a “man of God” who loved gospel music. In other Facebook posts, she has insisted her mother was not mentally well at the time of the incident.
Williams was booked into the Fairfield County jail where she has remained since her arrest.
Authorities have not released any details as to what sparked the argument between Williams and Hughes.
Following the hearing, Williams was remanded to the custody of the Fairfield County Sheriff and will be transported to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections to serve her sentence, prosecutors said.
Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.
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