The Murder of William Palmer
For this case, I watched an episode of Snapped. It’s season 18 episode 2.
A young father is killed in the middle of the night.
Background
William ‘Will’ Palmer was only 21-years-old at the time of his death. He was the father of a young daughter, who he shared custody of with his ex-girlfriend, Ajelina Lewis. Ajelina had been just starting her senior year of high school when she became pregnant, and dropped out. She gave birth in 2008. Will worked delivering pizza for awhile, while Ajelina stayed home. The relationship eventually ended due to the stress of being young parents, and due to Ajelina’s drug use.
Will was described as a very well liked person. Will had to grow up quickly, but still liked to party with his friends when he could.
Will Palmer, with his daughter, and Ajelina Lewis
The Traffic Stop
On February 12, 2010, just a few weeks before Will died, Ajelina was pulled over for a traffic violation. As she was being pulled over, she threw some items out the window. The police found a large amount of cocaine.
Ajelina was arrested, and charged with possession with the intent to distribute. Her father bonded her out of jail, and due to the amount of the cocaine, she was looking at mandatory jail time.
Ajelina’s defense argued that she was a good kid, but needed money for her daughter.
The 911 Call
On March 12, 2010, Ajelina called 911, around 5:20am. She told the dispatcher that someone had broken into the apartment of her baby daddy, where she was staying. Ajelina said she fled the apartment, but Will was still asleep when she left.
The police arrived, but Will’s uncle, Ralph, who he lived with, answered the door. Ralph had just woken up, and had no idea what was going on. The police told him that they had received a call about a possible intruder.
The police entered the apartment, and soon found Will Palmer lying in a fetal position on the floor of his bedroom. He was naked, and had been stabbed about 25 times.
Ajelina arrived soon after, and met the police in the parking lot. They took notice that she was barefoot, and seemed to believe her story that she fled. Ajelina kept asking them about Will and his condition, but they asked her to go to the station for an interview.
Ajelina’s Theory
Ajelina knew the police lieutenant, a man named Jim Adams. Jim said that he noticed Ajelina was crying, and believed it had something to do with her drug use. However, he soon learned that something had happened to Will.
Ajelina told the police about her drug possession charge, and that she believed someone was after her. She said that she heard from Will, that there was a rumor that she had been released from jail because she snitched.
Ajelina told the police that someone had broken into her apartment just a few weeks before, and had taken her recent arrest documents, and she found a torn picture of her and her daughter.
Ajelina said she stayed with Will that night because she was afraid. She said she was drinking with Will and Ralph, until they all decided to go to bed. She said she and Will attempted to have sex, but decided to go to sleep because they were too drunk. When she woke up, there was a man in a baseball cap standing over them.
Ajelina said she had pants on, which had her car keys in the pocket. She didn’t grab her shoes, or cell phone, and went to a friend’s house to call 911.
Ralph’s Story
While the police were talking to Ajelina, they noticed that her hair was damp. They had also found some short ankle socks in a hamper in the bathroom of the apartment. The socks had blood on them.
The police interviewed Ralph. Ralph told them that they had been drinking, until he decided to go to bed. Ralph said he heard what sounded like Ajelina snorting cocaine in the bathroom.
Ralph told Will about it, and he confronted Ajelina. Ralph said he went to bed, but could briefly hear the two fighting. Ralph said he did overhear Will tell Ajelina that he would make sure he got custody of their daughter.
The police impounded Ajelina’s car, and found a red spot that was determined to be blood.
They also found it very odd that the house of the friend where Ajelina had driven to was about 6 miles away. Ajelina had passed a gas station where there was a phone, as well as the turn to go to her dad’s house.
The police spoke to Ajelina’s friends. Ajelina’s friend told the police that she had hidden her phone under Will’s mattress, and told him that she’d be in trouble if they found it. Another friend told the police that Ajelina had burst into the house, and told them that Will had been killed due to being stabbed.
The Denial
The police interviewed Ajelina again. They asked her why she had driven so far to go to her friend’s house. Ajelina said she was freaking out, and that was the safest place she could think of.
The police asked Ajelina about Ralph’s statements about her doing drugs that night. Ajelina denied it until the police told her they would do a blood test. Ajelina then admitted to doing cocaine.
The police asked her why she had hidden her phone. Ajelina said she it was because she had a lot of drug information on it. The police told Ajelina that she needed to be honest with them. They confronted her about her friend’s statements, but Ajelina denied ever saying she knew what had happened to Will.
Ajelina was released, but had to turn over her clothes. The pants that she had been wearing that night didn’t have any pockets.
On March 17, 2010, Ajelina was asked to come in for another interview. She revoked her rights, but she was arrested, and charged with murder.
Trial #1
On May 9, 2011, Ajelina’s first trial began. While she was in jail waiting for her trial, she had pled guilty for her drug charges. She was sentenced to 2 years.
The prosecutor, Brian McIntyre, said that Ajelina’s drug use had led her to kill Will. They had an argument over it, and when Will mentioned he would take away their daughter, it set her off.
Ajelina was portrayed as being a small person who didn’t look like a murderer, but the judge had left out the fact that she was a black belt.
The medical examiner testified that Will had several injuries, but about 3 of them were fatal. He had an injury on his shoulder where his tattoo was. The injury looked like someone had tried to cut the tattoo off. The tattoo was of his daughter’s name.
The prosecution said Will never had a chance to fight back, as he had no defensive wounds.
The defense argued that Ajelina’s drug use did lead to his murder, but it wasn’t her that killed him. They said that the police didn’t look into any other suspects, and that Will was killed to shut Ajelina up.
A forensics expert testified that they had found a boot print in the carpet that appeared to be a size 11 men’s shoe.
Ajelina was found guilty of first degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison.
Trial #2 and Conviction
Two months after Ajelina’s conviction, it was overturned. There had been statements made by the prosecution that were unconstitutional. The prosecution had told the jury that Ajelina knew the truth, but wasn’t talking.
On September 8, 2014, Ajelina’s second trial began.
The prosecution’s case was the same as the first trial. The defense now said that there was no proof or evidence that Ajelina killed Will.
There was a holdout in the jury. The juror wouldn’t agree to convict Ajelina of first degree murder.
So, after a 5 hour deliberation, Ajelina was convicted of second degree murder. She was sentenced to 16 years plus 21 months for tampering with evidence, and hiding her cell phone.
Ajelina will be eligible for parole in 2029.
Ajelina’s mother had custody of her daughter.
Ajelina
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think Ajelina killed Will, or at least knew who killed him. I think the motive has more to do with the custody of their daughter, and not because someone was out to kill Will to shut Ajelina up. If it was really over the drugs or snitching, wouldn’t Ajelina be more of a target? Plus, her friend’s statements seem to prove that Ajelina was involved. Hopefully, she won’t get out on parole, but 16 years is a light sentence, so who knows what will happen.
Sources
https://www.kold.com/story/15279423/21-year-old-woman/
