The Murder of Kathy Taft
Warning, this case does discuss sexual assault.
For this case, I watched an episode of I Was Murdered. It’s season 1 episode 12, titled ‘Midnight Monster.’
A single mother of 4 is attacked in the middle of the night.
Background
Kathy Taft was a 62-year-old mother of 4 children. Kathy was a member of the PTA and a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education.
Kathy was described as driven, hardworking, and would’ve done anything for her children.
Kathy Taft
The Attack
In March 2010, Kathy went to Raleigh, North Carolina to have a cosmetic surgery procedure done. Kathy contacted her sister to stay with her at her on and off again boyfriend’s home while he was out of town.
The relationship between Kathy and her sister was described as tumultuous, but Kathy was hoping they would be able to reconnect.
On March 6, 2010, Kathy said goodnight to her sister. A few hours later, Kathy’s sister made a frantic phone call to 911 when she discovered Kathy lying in a pool of blood and unconscious.
After learning about Kathy’s cosmetic surgery, the first responders believed it was a medical emergency. They would later learn that Kathy had been attacked and hit in the head with a heavy object. Kathy slipped into a coma, but would never recover. Kathy’s children took her off life support 3 days after the attack.
The Suspects
Kathy’s sister was interviewed by the police. At first, she told the police that they went to bed, but she had heard noises in the house. She said she went to look around, and stopped outside the door of the room where Kathy was staying. She said she heard her sister breathing, so didn’t enter the room.
The police were suspicious of Kathy’s sister, and so were Kathy’s children. She changed her story many times, and became uncooperative. She stopped agreeing to meet with the police, and refused to answer any more questions.
The police searched the home of Kathy’s boyfriend, and through Kathy’s belongings. They made the discovery that Kathy didn’t have any underwear with her, and hadn’t been wearing any when she was brought to the hospital. A sexual assault exam was performed, and the results revealed that Kathy had been raped. Kathy’s sister was ruled out as being as suspect.
The police looked into Kathy’s boyfriend. He agreed to meet with the police, but said he had been out of town at the time of the murder. He said he offered to let Kathy stay at his house while she recovered because he was going to be gone. The police were able to check to his alibi. He hadn’t been in the state of North Carolina at the time.
A Disturbed Individual
During the investigation, the police discovered that there had been a break in at another home on the same night of Kathy’s attack. The neighborhood was a very nice one, and had a very low crime rate.
The police weren’t able to collect any DNA or fingerprints from the house where the attempted break in took place. They canvassed the area, and collected fingerprints from men in the neighborhood.
The police arrived at a man named Jason Williford’s house. Jason refused to let the police into his home and refused to give them a DNA sample.
The police ran a background on Jason, and learned that he had two previous burglary charges. Jason had broken into these homes, and ordered X-rated movies on the TV.
The fugitive task force team was asked to follow Jason in hopes of collecting his DNA. After 2 days of following Jason, he dropped a cigarette butt in a parking lot. The cigarette was collected, and sent to the crime lab. It came back as a match.
Jason Williford was arrested, but refused to talk to the police.
The Confession
After Jason’s arrest and before his trial, two psychiatrists met with Jason. He confessed to one of the psychiatrists about what had happened to Kathy.
Jason said he walked around the neighborhood, and attempted to break into another home, but couldn’t get in. He then went to the home where Kathy was staying, and was able to jimmy the lock. Jason said he hit Kathy over the head with a rock after discovering she was in the house. Jason also admitted to raping her. He said he then walked home and went to bed.
Kathy’s underwear and the rock were never recovered.
At his trial, Jason’s ex-wife testified that Jason had attempted to rape her just days before he was arrested.
Jason Williford was found guilty of first degree murder and rape. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Jason Williford
FINAL THOUGHTS
Kathy was truly in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jason went out looking for a home to break into, and sadly, Kathy and her sister were staying in her boyfriend’s house. Jason is a sick and disturbed individual who deserves to rot in prison. Now, he can’t hurt anyone else ever again.
Sources
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kathy-taft-nc-school-official-murdered-in-boyfriends-home-say-cops/
https://abc11.com/archive/8665569/
https://myfox8.com/news/jason-williford-sentenced-in-death-of-kathy-taft/
https://abc11.com/jason-williford-kathy-taft-murder-north-carolina/463486/
