The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office has reached a plea bargain with a Keller woman who previously lied about the circumstances of the death of her husband in 2011.
Michele Marie Williams pleaded guilty to deadly conduct and tampering with physical evidence on Tuesday after previously having claimed to not be involved with the death of Gregory Williams, her husband.
Williams previously told investigators that a man dressed in black entered the couple's home, struck her head with a wrench and then shot and killed her husband. That story was found to be false.
She later changed her story to say she staged the break-in and injured herself to cover up that her husband had committed suicide, a story that also was false.
According to the district attorney's office, Williams pleaded guilty to knowingly discharging a firearm at her husband -- the deadly conduct charge -- and also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence by moving and cleaning her husband's body.
“This agreement was reached after we met with the victim’s family and thoroughly reviewed the evidence and circumstances of the case,” said Deputy Chief District Attorney Jack Strickland, who handled the case with Sheila Wynn. “There were serious legal and technical issues with the investigation that factored into this decision. Specifically, the defendant succeeded in destroying and doctoring evidence necessary to prove an intentional murder.”
The DA's office is recommending an 18-year prison sentence for tampering with evidence and a two-year sentence on the deadly conduct charge. Williams is scheduled to be formally sentenced on April 21.
Williams is pregnant with twins, and Strickland said he recommended her sentence be postponed until after the babies were born so that taxpayers would not have to pay for costly, high-risk prenatal care and so the children would not be stigmatized by birth under the authority of a penitentiary.
NBC 5's Lindsay Wilcox contributed to this report.
Previous Coverage:
