(Woodland, CA) – September 15, 2022 – On September 14, 2022, a two-commissioner panel of the Board of Parole Hearings denied the parole of 64-year-old Carl Williams. Williams is serving a life sentence with the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Tucker Unit. The hearing took place by video conference. This was Williams’ fifth lifer hearing. The denial was for three years.
On April 7, 1989, 31-year-old Williams was staying at a motel in West Sacramento. He was dealing and using crack cocaine. He met Evelyn Munoz who had been staying with him for a couple days. Ms. Munoz was working at the Department of Motor Vehicles and was going through a difficult divorce. Williams wanted to use Ms. Munoz’ car to sell crack cocaine and he and Ms. Williams got into an argument. Williams became violently angry and strangled Ms. Munoz by stuffing a sheet down her throat. A witness in a nearby room twice heard Ms. Munoz beg for her life saying “Help, help me.” After strangling Ms. Munoz, Williams found her keys and left with her car.
A Yolo County jury convicted Williams of First-Degree Murder in 1990 and he was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in State Prison. Because he had family in Arkansas, and due to prison overcrowding in California, the California Department of Corrections granted his request to serve his prison sentence in Arkansas.
Chief Deputy District Jonathan Raven represented the District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Munoz’ granddaughter, her two daughters, and her son-in-law attended the lifer hearing. These family members made powerful statements to the Commissioners talking about how this brutal murder impacted their lives. District Attorney Victim Advocate Kenya Salazar-Campos attended the hearing to support the family members. Her eldest daughter, who was twelve when her mother was murdered, stated “All I want to do is hear her voice again and be in her presence, but that was taken from me because of him.”
Board of Parole Hearings Commissioners David Long and Keith Betchley determined that Williams still poses an unreasonable risk to public safety and is therefore unsuitable for parole. Commissioner Long stated “your minimizing acceptance of taking responsibility and deflecting blame to the victim is indicative of your criminal thinking.”
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig stated that he was satisfied with the three-year denial. “The family of Ms. Munoz has been suffering immeasurable pain since this senseless and brutal murder in 1989,” said Reisig. “We will do everything we can on their behalf to honor Evelyn Munoz and to keep society safe from this dangerous man. That is the very least we can do for this family and all families who have survived similar tragedies.”
Carl Williams will be eligible for a new parole hearing in 2025, however, the law permits him to request an earlier hearing date if circumstances change that would increase his likelihood of release.
###
