Laquandra Williams appears in two booking photos from February 2024. (Columbus Police Division; Fairfield County Jail)
An Ohio woman is behind bars after admittedly shooting her own son after first trying to stab him earlier this week, authorities say.
Laquandra Shantee Williams, 44, stands accused of one count each of aggravated murder, felony murder, and felonious assault, according to Fairfield County court records. The defendant is the mother of Jahaad Hughes, 21, who was shot to death on Monday, according to police.
A potential motive for the alleged filicide has not been floated by law enforcement as of this writing.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Feb. 19, according to a press release issued by the Columbus Division of Police.
Officers responded to call about shots fired at a residence on Drew Heights Place in Reynoldsburg, a medium-sized suburb of Columbus, at around 1:45 p.m. Hughes was found unresponsive and on the ground at the scene of the crime, police said. Paramedics then rushed the victim to nearby Mount Carmel East Hospital where he arrived in critical condition. By 3:03 p.m. that day, the young man was dead.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case, Williams “approached” the responding officers “and stated she shot her son.”
Witnesses on the scene relayed details of the violence, the court document says. The altercation between mother and child allegedly began as a “domestic incident” inside the Tussing Place apartments when Williams “grabbed a knife and attempted to stab her son.”
Witnesses went on to tell investigators “they attempted to help get the knife away” from the mother. But, in the end, it was the son who “was able to remove the weapon from her himself.”
Being disarmed, however, allegedly further set the defendant off.
“I’m going to show you something,” Williams said, according to the witnesses, and then went over to her vehicle.
According to the affidavit, the witnesses knew Williams kept a handgun inside her vehicle and proceeded to lock her outside.
But Hughes was intent on leaving.
Minutes later, the son decided to pack his bags. Then, when he left the residence “with bags in hand,” his mother allegedly got out of the car “and shot him at close range,” witnesses said.
Williams was arrested without incident where she confessed to the shooting once again during an interview, the affidavit alleges.
“My heart is so crushed, I never would’ve imagined this happening,” the sister of the victim — and daughter of the defendant — wrote on Facebook. “I lost my brother and my mom. If you’re dealing with a mental illness please go and get help.”
The grieving woman went on to remember her brother as a “man of God” who loved gospel music. In other Facebook posts, she has insisted her mother was not mentally well at the time of the incident.
The defendant is currently being detained in the Fairfield County jail. Court records show Williams is not currently represented by counsel. A hearing in the case occurred on Wednesday, where the defendant made her initial appearance via video.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
