RUSSELL COUNTY, Ala. (TCN) — The governor of Alabama has set the execution date for 40-year-old Jeremy Williams, who was convicted in 2024 of the 2021 killing of Kamarie Holland, 5.
On Dec. 13, 2021, Holland was reported missing. Her mother, Kristy Siple, said the door was open when she woke up and her daughter was gone. It was later learned Williams had agreed to pay Siple $2,500 for sexual acts with the child. Holland’s body was found in an abandoned house; she had been strangled and there were signs of sexual abuse.
AL.com reports Williams negotiated with Siple to pay her $1,300 instead of $2,500, but he reportedly never paid her. According to the outlet, he smoked methamphetamine before assaulting and killing Holland and forced the child to smoke methamphetamine as well. The sexual assault lasted more than an hour. When he eventually tried to choke her, he had to take breaks because his hands got tired. Williams recorded himself performing sexual acts with Holland both before and after her death.
Siple was arrested on Dec. 29, 2021 and booked into jail on charges of murder during the course of kidnapping, murder during the course of rape, murder during the course of sodomy, and human trafficking.
In March 2024, Siple took a plea deal, WTVM reported at the time. She pleaded guilty to human trafficking and the murder charges were dropped. She was sentenced in July 2024 to 20 years behind bars.
On April 12, 2024, Williams was found guilty of capital murder of a child under 14, capital murder during the course of first-degree sodomy, capital murder during the course of first-degree kidnapping, and capital murder during the course of first-degree rape. He was sentenced to death the following day.
After he was charged in connection with Holland’s death, Williams was indicted in the 2005 killing of his newborn daughter in Alaska, according to AL.com. Investigators also learned that he was acquitted in 2009 after allegedly putting a babysitting charge into scalding water.
On June 19, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey set an execution date of Aug. 13 for Williams, WSB-TV reports. Though he had pleaded guilty, the state of Alabama requires a jury to issue a verdict in a case where the prosecution seeks the death penalty. WSB-TV reports a jury deliberated for 90 minutes at his 2024 trial before returning their verdict.
According to Holland’s obituary, she was a preschooler who wanted to be a princess when she grew up.
WTVM reports that Russell County District Attorney Rick Chancey visited Holland’s grave and said, “There’s no reason that baby should be in the ground. … I want to remember her, not this joker. … Jeremy is not somebody I want to remember in life.”
MORE:
