Murder of Felicia Gayle

Murder of Felicia Gayle
Undated photo of Gayle
LocationUniversity City, Missouri, United States
DateAugust 11, 1998
Attack type
Homicide by stabbing
ConvictedMarcellus Williams
ConvictionsFirst-degree murder
SentenceDeath

Felicia "Lisha" Anne Gayle Picus (née Gayle; February 6, 1956 – August 11, 1998) was an American journalist murdered during a burglary in her gated community in University City, Missouri, on August 11, 1998.[1] Gayle, a 42-year-old reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was found dead in her home, having been stabbed up to 43 times with a butcher's knife taken from her kitchen.[2]

Marcellus Williams was charged with and convicted of Gayle's murder. Prosecutors presented evidence that included testimonies of Williams' former cellmate, girlfriend, and a man who testified to Williams selling him Gayle's stolen laptop. Other evidence included Williams's possession of items stolen from Gayle's home.[3][4][5][6] In August 2001, Williams was sentenced to death.

On appeal, he raised several issues, including claims of errors in evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and victim impact testimony. He also challenged the use of his prior criminal history and alleged improper prosecutorial comments during closing arguments. The death sentence was controversial, as DNA evidence had been claimed to prove his innocence, and Gayle's family repeatedly stated they did not want Williams executed.[7] The court rejected these arguments, finding no abuse of discretion by the trial court and that the additional DNA on the murder weapon was the prosecutor's which adhered when handling the evidence. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected Williams's appeal, concluding that the verdict was neither disproportionate nor influenced by prejudice. They concluded that there were sufficient statutory aggravating circumstances, such as the brutality of the crime and Williams' prior convictions. The court affirmed both the conviction and the death sentence. Williams was executed on September 24, 2024, amid ongoing protests.[8][9]

  1. ^ Smith, Jordan (January 14, 2024). "Crime Scene DNA Didn't Match Marcellus Williams. Missouri May Fast-Track His Execution Anyway". The Intercept. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  2. ^ Peterson, Deborah; Williams, Lance (August 13, 1998). "Police check out leads in slaying of former Post-Dispatch reporter". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 39. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "A Missouri man has been executed for a 1998 murder. Was he guilty or innocent?". Associated Press. September 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sep 24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Melimopoulos, Elizabeth (September 25, 2024). "Why was Marcellus Williams executed? What to know about the Missouri case". Al Jazeera. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnn-marcellus-williams-scheduled-execution-date was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference ap-missouri-execution-marcellus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Yan, Holly (September 24, 2024). "Marcellus Williams". CNN. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "Missouri man convicted of murder executed after prosecutor tried to stop it". NBC News. September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.