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Juror: "I Was Crying For" Rape and Torture Victim
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 25, 2008
Modified Jun 25, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 25, 2008
Modified Jun 25, 2008
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Yesterday, a jury of eight men and four women found Robert Williams guilty of 44 counts, including, per the Post, "attempted murder, kidnapping, arson, burglary, robbery, 10 assault charges, five separate rapes and 11 incidents of sodomy," related to his 19-hour rape and torture of a Columbia University graduate student in her Hamilton Heights apartment a year ago.
According to his lawyer, Williams, who has rarely been in court during the trial, responded to the verdict by remaining asleep in his cell.
The two charges Williams was not found guilty of were, according to the Columbia Spectator, first-degree assault “with intent to cause serious physical injury … by means of a dangerous instrument” (the knife he used to slash the victim's eyelids) and "first-degree assault “with intent to disfigure another person seriously and permanently, and to destroy, amputate, and disable permanently a member and organ of such person’s body" (the victim has scars on her eyelids).
Still, the jury was emotionally overcome many times during the trial, which included the harrowing testimony from the victim, now a 24-year-old graduate of Columbia's journalism school, describing how Williams made her overdose on pills, poured bleach and boiling water on her, asked her to blind herself, how she awoke to find herself tied to a burning futon and much more as well as graphic photographs of the victim's injuries. One juror, 22-year-old Andrea Sepulveda, said, "I was crying for her. I guess she had to stay strong.” The victim and her family were in court during the reading of the verdict; though they did not make any comments, reports say she gave a small smile upon leaving.
Another juror, 21-year-old David Prince, noted that there was a lot of evidence (the victim vividly remembered a specific scar that ID'd Williams, the police had DNA evidence) and said the jury was pretty much sure Williams was guilty on most charges, “It was just going through the definitions and making sure.”
Williams, 31, will be sentenced at the end of next month. He will likely spend most of the rest of his life in prison.
Tagged
attempted murder
brutal rape
conviction
hamilton heights
jury
rape
robert williams
torture
trial
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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