On a spring morning in 2022, an argument at a party in Detroit tragically ended the life of Takeisha Williams, a 24-year-old female from Trenton. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. on April 16 at a residence on Vaughan Street. According to Williams’s mother, Felicia, a “misunderstanding” between her daughter and another woman escalated. During the dispute, a handgun was fired into the home's doorway, striking Williams in the head.
She was rushed to a local hospital but did not survive her injuries. “She died while I was kissing her face, holding her hand, begging her not to leave me,” her mother later shared.
The Detroit Police Department investigated the shooting and soon identified a suspect, 24-year-old Danique Golder of Roseville. Golder was taken into custody and arraigned on charges of second-degree murder, discharging a firearm in a building causing death, and two counts of felony firearm. She pleaded not guilty and was eventually released from custody on bond with an electronic tether. The decision was devastating for Williams’s family. “It’s hard for me to accept that my daughter isn’t here anymore and the young lady that shot her… is out here walking around, living a normal life with an ankle bracelet,” her mother said. In November 2022, Golder was remanded back to the Wayne County Jail for a "tether violation."
The case moved through the court system for over a year. A week before her trial was scheduled to begin, a plea deal was reached. In July 2023, Danique Golder appeared in Wayne County Circuit Court and pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of manslaughter and one count of felony firearm possession. In exchange for her plea, the original charges of second-degree murder, discharging a firearm in a building causing death, and one of the felony firearm counts were dismissed.
The manslaughter charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while the felony firearm conviction carries a mandatory two-year term that must be served in addition to the manslaughter sentence. As of August 2023, Golder remained in custody awaiting her sentencing, which was scheduled for November 2, 2023.
