On February 16, 2017, 68-year-old Mary Williams Faulk, a White female, was found shot to death in her home in Semmes, Alabama. Her body was discovered by her 11-year-old great-granddaughter. The subsequent investigation into her death quickly led to the identification of three suspects: her own 13-year-old great-grandson, his 15-year-old friend, and 19-year-old Erick James Toomer.
The trio had fled the scene in Faulk's vehicle, prompting law enforcement to issue an alert for the missing
car. A sheriff's deputy later spotted the vehicle on a dirt road, and after a foot chase through the woods, all three suspects were apprehended in Grand Bay. Investigators believe the motive for the murder stemmed from behavioral issues the 13-year-old was experiencing, which his great-grandmother was attempting to address. It is alleged that the three youths planned and then carried out the murder.
During interviews with law enforcement, the 13-year-old great-grandson reportedly confessed to being the one who pulled the trigger. Captain Paul Burch of the Mobile County Sheriff's Office described the boy as showing no remorse and being 'pure evil.' The other two teenagers were said to have expressed some level of remorse.
Due to his age, Alabama law prevented the 13-year-old from being tried as an adult, and he faced a maximum sentence of three years in a juvenile detention facility if convicted. The Mobile County District Attorney's office, however, sought to have the 15-year-old accomplice transferred to adult court to face charges. Erick Toomer, the oldest of the three, was charged with being an accomplice after the fact, and his bond was set at $25,000.
