On a summer day in Hartford, Connecticut, the life of William Smalls, a 42-year-old Black/African American male, came to a tragic and violent end. On June 25, 2018, first responders were called to the scene of what appeared to be a car crash. A vehicle had struck a tree, but upon closer inspection, a more sinister event was revealed. Inside the car was William Smalls, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was not the crash that claimed his life; an autopsy would later confirm he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head, neck, chest, and arm. The incident was quickly classified as the city's 13th homicide of the year, launching an intensive investigation by the Hartford Police Department.
The investigation into the shooting death of Smalls led authorities to a suspect within a few weeks. In July 2018, police announced they had made an arrest in the case, taking 42-year-old Damond Bester of Bloomfield into custody. Bester was charged with murder and criminal possession of a firearm, bringing a glimmer of hope for justice to a grieving family and community. Friends and family remembered Smalls as a loving and sociable person, a wonderful father who had even received a "Parent of the Year Award." His sudden death left behind two daughters and a host of relatives and friends to mourn their loss.
The legal process moved forward, culminating in a trial at the Hartford Superior Court. The prosecution presented a compelling case against Damond Bester. Key evidence included gunshot residue found on Bester's clothing, which directly linked him to the firing of a weapon. Furthermore, cell phone tower records placed him in the vicinity of the crime, and witness statements helped to solidify the case against him. In December 2022, a jury found Damond Bester guilty of murder and criminal possession of a firearm. The conviction marked the final chapter in the search for accountability for the killing of William Smalls, confirming Bester as the man responsible for the fatal shooting that had cut a life short more than four years earlier.
