On the evening of April 10, 2014, a violent home invasion in the Hawkins Village housing complex in Rankin, Pennsylvania, claimed the life of 46-year-old Lee Williams of Braddock. Williams was fatally shot in the chest when two men broke into an apartment in what authorities believe was an attempted robbery. The assailants forced their way into the residence shortly before 9 p.m., leading to the deadly confrontation that ended Williams's life.
The investigation into the shooting quickly
led to a suspect. Witnesses inside the home provided crucial information to the police. One witness recognized the voice of one of the intruders, which led investigators to focus on 19-year-old Jake Knight. This witness later identified Knight in a photographic lineup. Just two days after the fatal shooting, Knight was arrested and faced a series of serious charges, including homicide, conspiracy, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and firearms violations. The second suspect involved in the home invasion and murder was never publicly identified by law enforcement.
In August 2016, a jury found Jake Knight, then 21, guilty of second-degree murder, burglary, and reckless endangerment for his role in the death of Lee Williams. The conviction carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. In November of that same year, Knight, then 22, was formally sentenced to life in prison. In addition to the life sentence for the murder, the judge imposed an additional two and a half to five years for the other charges.
