In the summer of 2021, the community of Aberdeen, Mississippi, was shaken by the violent death of George Deon Williams, a 37-year-old male who was fatally shot on the evening of Tuesday, June 15th. The incident occurred in what should have been the safety of his own property, the driveway of his residence located on South Hickory Street. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene, but Williams was pronounced dead by the Monroe County Coroner, succumbing to the gunshot wounds he
sustained.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led the Aberdeen Police Department to two suspects. Within a day of the incident, authorities had taken George Strong and Bobby Smith into custody. Initially, both men were charged with the murder of George Deon Williams, and their bonds were set at two hundred thousand dollars each as the investigation continued to unfold.
As the legal process moved forward, a Monroe County Grand Jury was presented with the evidence gathered by law enforcement. The grand jury chose to indict both Smith and Strong in connection with the death of Williams, though the charges against Strong were amended. Bobby L. Smith was formally indicted for murder, facing the more severe charge in the death of Williams. George Strong's charge was changed to accessory after the fact, indicating that the grand jury believed he had assisted Smith after the commission of the crime. Following the indictments, it was anticipated that both men would stand trial for their alleged involvement in the shooting death of George Deon Williams. No trial date was immediately set. As of early 2022, the case was pending trial. There have been no widely reported updates on the final outcome of the trials or any convictions in the years since the indictments were handed down.
