Two people were fatally shot Sept. 18 in Daytona Park Estates northeast of DeLand in what the Sheriff’s Office said was a domestic-violence incident.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from 1322 East Parkway at about 8 p.m. Sunday.
Michael Williams, 47, placed the call, and confessed to shooting two people, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and is being held in the Volusia County Branch Jail with no bond.
Responders said they found Williams in his vehicle in the driveway of the home; the two victims, Marsha Williams, 48, and her son, Robert Adams, 28, were found inside.
Also found inside the residence were Adams’ two children, ages 5 and 6. Chief Deputy Brian Henderson of the Sheriff’s Office said the children may have witnessed the crime. The Sheriff’s Office is working with the Florida Department of Children and Families and the state’s child-protection team to question the youngsters.
At a news conference Monday morning, Chief Deputy Henderson said Michael Williams has a criminal history of worthless checks, domestic violence, battery on a law-enforcement officer and child abuse. Henderson also said Michael Williams told deputies he had been attacked by the two victims.
Henderson added, however, that a photograph of Michael Williams taken when he was booked into jail does not depict a man who faced a “violent attack that warrants being shot multiple times.”
“This guy who appears to be in decent shape is telling us he was attacked violently. I don’t see it,” Henderson said.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the incident stemmed from a dayslong argument about the home’s electricity. Deputies said Michael Williams told them he had placed a lock on the electrical box, and the two victims cut it.
Henderson called the crime a “senseless murder that did not have to occur.”
Before Sept. 18, the department had visited the residence five times this year for fights and arguments, the Sheriff’s Office said, adding that there were no reports of physical abuse during these visits, and no arrests were made.
Additionally, Marsha Williams had placed a call to the Sheriff’s Office several hours before the killings, looking for legal advice.
According to court records, the Sheriff’s Office said, Marsha and Michael Williams had divorced in June after a 10-year marriage, but Michael Williams was permitted to remain in the home. The plan, the Sheriff’s Office said, was for Marsha Williams to sell the house and split the profits with her ex-husband.
At the press conference, Henderson made note of the Sheriff’s Office year-to-date domestic-violence arrests in Volusia County: 700.
“This is senseless, absolutely senseless,” he said.
The investigation is currently ongoing.
