Do you know who murdered Martinus Williams Jr? In the summer of 2019, the life of Martinus Williams Jr., a 24-year-old man from Louisville, Kentucky, was tragically cut short. On the evening of July 31, 2019, Williams was found fatally shot inside a building in the 2300 block of West Oak Street, in the Park Hill neighborhood. Louisville Metro Police officers, on patrol in the area, discovered his body after noticing an open door to the building.
Williams had been shot multiple times.
Known to his loved ones as 'Apay,' Martinus was an aspiring rapper and barber with dreams of opening his own business. The building where his life was taken was the intended location for a barbershop and recording studio he and his father planned to establish together. This shared dream made his untimely death all the more heartbreaking for his family. His father, Martinus Williams Sr., received the devastating news shortly after his own wedding, a moment of profound joy that was instantly overshadowed by immense grief.
For a period, the case of who was responsible for Williams' death remained unsolved, leaving his family and community searching for answers and justice. However, in April 2025, a significant development occurred in the investigation when a Jefferson County Grand Jury indicted Rotez Sykes, 24, on charges of murder, robbery, and tampering with physical evidence in connection with Williams' death. At the time of the indictment, Sykes was already incarcerated at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex on other charges. This breakthrough brought a renewed hope for closure to a family that had waited years for justice.
