In the early morning hours of July 12, 2020, the life of 28-year-old Shanika Williams was tragically cut short inside her apartment in the 800 block of 19th Street, Northeast, in Washington, D.C. A female, she was a mother to a son and daughter, a licensed cosmetologist, an aspiring musical artist, and an entrepreneur with her own beauty business. Her dreams, however, came to a sudden and violent end when she was shot and killed.
The offense was domestic in nature, perpetrated by her boyfriend, Steven M. Robinson.
Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 4:02 a.m. and found Williams inside her residence suffering from a gunshot wound. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services arrived on the scene and determined that she showed no signs of life. An investigation was immediately launched into her death. Detectives identified 29-year-old Steven Martin Robinson as the suspect in the homicide. A warrant was issued for his arrest on the charge of second-degree murder while armed.
Following a manhunt, Robinson was arrested on February 5, 2021, by members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. In June 2021, Robinson pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree murder while armed for the shooting death of his girlfriend. He was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The case highlighted the devastating impact of domestic violence, leaving behind a grieving family, including two children who were present in the home at the time of the incident, and a community mourning the loss of a vibrant young woman.
