In the early morning hours of April 29, 2015, the life of 42-year-old Rhonda Williams, a female resident of Union City, Georgia, was tragically cut short in what authorities would later describe as a domestic incident. Police were dispatched to her home on Main Street around 12:45 a.m. following a report of a person being shot. Upon their arrival, they discovered Ms. Williams deceased inside the residence. The initial investigation quickly pointed towards a domestic dispute, a heartbreaking reality that was compounded by the fact that her two children were present in the home at the time of the shooting.
The investigation into Rhonda Williams's death swiftly focused on her 53-year-old ex-husband, William Lee Sankey. Despite their divorce in 2014, a court decree had allowed Sankey to continue living in the same house with Williams and their young daughter. Tensions had reportedly been high between the former couple, with family members noting that Sankey was struggling to accept the end of their marriage. The situation escalated when Sankey learned that his ex-wife had begun a new relationship. On that fateful April night, he confronted her with a pistol shortly after she returned home from work.
In a brutal act of violence, Sankey shot Rhonda Williams multiple times in front of their five-year-old child. The victim's brother, who also resided in the home, heard the initial gunshots and discovered Sankey near his sister's body. In a chilling confession to the brother, Sankey reportedly stated, 'I had to do it,' before firing the final shot into the back of Williams's head. Following the murder, Sankey contacted several family members to confess what he had done but prevented anyone from calling the police for several hours. He eventually fled the scene but turned himself in to authorities later that day.
William Lee Sankey was arrested and faced a litany of charges, including felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was denied bond and remained in the Fulton County jail. In March 2017, a Fulton County jury found the then 55-year-old Sankey guilty of murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault for the death of his ex-wife, Rhonda Williams, bringing a measure of justice to a case that began with a violent and senseless act.
