On the evening of December 27, 2021, a dispute between two longtime acquaintances in Kansas City, Missouri, escalated to a fatal conclusion, leaving 46-year-old Naaman Williams, a Black male, dead from a gunshot wound. The incident, which unfolded on the front porch of a home near 60th Street and Agnes Avenue, was reportedly rooted in an altercation that had occurred just two days earlier.
According to witness statements given to police, the conflict began on Christmas Day when Williams
allegedly used a pistol to beat William F. Betts III, a man he had known since high school. In the wake of this confrontation, Betts, then 44, reportedly told at least one witness that he intended to kill Williams.
On the evening of December 27th, Williams approached the residence where Betts was located. As Betts came out onto the porch, a single shot was fired, and Williams collapsed on the steps. When police arrived, they found him unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, as investigators began to process the scene, a witness approached an officer and identified Betts, who was standing nearby, as the shooter. Police then surrounded Betts and took him into custody without incident.
Following his arrest, William F. Betts III was charged by the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office with second-degree murder and armed criminal action for the death of Naaman Williams. During his initial questioning by detectives, Betts denied knowing Williams and claimed that a recent fight he had been in was with a different individual. Prosecutors requested a cash bond of $250,000.
