Elizabeth Williams was a 41-year-old White woman from Calvert City, Kentucky, working to build a better life for herself and her daughter, Makayla. A dedicated mother, she was the front desk manager at the Best Western in Paducah and was also pursuing a nursing degree. Her family remembered her as a beloved daughter and friend, whose life was full of promise.
On the morning of Saturday, February 11, 2023, Williams was at her job when a hotel guest began a violent rampage.
Around 10 a.m., Robert Pannell, a 55-year-old from Palm Coast, Florida, assaulted a man and a woman in the hotel parking lot when they were unable to provide him with a cigarette lighter. Pannell then entered the Best Western on John Puryear Drive with a handgun. He walked down a hallway, where he encountered Williams and shot her multiple times in the head and body. He continued to fire his weapon indiscriminately in the vicinity of several other people before throwing the handgun in the hotel lobby.
Multiple 911 calls reported an active shooter, and a McCracken County Sheriff's deputy arrived on the scene in under two minutes. The deputy found Williams on the first floor with grave injuries, while another officer located and detained Pannell in the parking lot. Emergency responders rushed Williams to Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries. No one else was physically harmed by the gunfire.
Pannell was taken into custody and initially faced charges including assault, wanton endangerment, and resisting arrest. Following Williams' death, the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder. Detectives with the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office began coordinating with law enforcement in Flagler County, Florida, to investigate what led Pannell to be in Paducah and to commit the unprovoked attack.
In September 2025, Robert Pannell pleaded guilty to murder in McCracken County Circuit Court. During the hearing, prosecutors revealed that before shooting her, Pannell had forced Elizabeth Williams to her knees and made her beg for her life. When the judge asked Pannell if this was true, he replied, "Yes, your honor." Following his guilty plea, Pannell was scheduled for sentencing on November 12.
