Cape man stands trial on second-degree murder charge

Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of a Cape Girardeau man accused of gunning down a romantic rival during an altercation in September 2012.

Steven Williams, 36, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Darcus Purl, 38.

Prosecutors dropped an additional charge of armed criminal action. In exchange, Williams agreed to waive his right to a jury trial and instead let Circuit Judge William Syler decide his case.

"At its heart, this is a case about jealousy -- jealousy and just one man's complete obsession with having something he couldn't have," assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff said in her opening argument Tuesday.

Williams' public defenders, Jennifer Booth and Amy Commean, did not deliver an opening argument.

But during cross-examination, Booth and Commean raised questions about prosecution witnesses, including Williams' onetime girlfriend, Georgia Cowson, who had been romantically involved with Purl.

They also implied Williams might have shot Purl in self-defense.

Relationships

In her testimony, Cowson described Purl as a father figure to her four children.

"[He] loved them all like they all were his," she said.

The couple broke up when Purl got into trouble and was sent to jail for a year, she testified.

Online court records show Purl was sentenced to a year in jail on a probation violation in 2011.

Cowson said she became involved with Williams during that time, but after Purl was released from jail in April 2012, Williams "started being very abusive," and the relationship deteriorated quickly.

In July 2012, Williams threatened Purl with a gun, and on Aug. 9, 2012, he began serving a 30-day jail sentence for domestic violence, Cowson testified.

Eight days after Williams went to jail, Cowson and Purl reunited, she said.

Conflict

After his Sept. 10, 2012, release, Williams began calling police and making false claims about Purl, Cowson testified.

He also accosted Cowson and threatened to kill her and Purl, she said.

Patrolman William Underwood of the Cape Girardeau Police Department testified Williams had contacted him Sept. 11, 2012, to say Purl had brandished a weapon at him, and he suspected Purl of tampering with the brakes on his car and burglarizing his home while he was in jail.

"I tried to give him all the outs possible to de-escalate the conflict," Underwood said.

The officer said he advised Williams to put up a "no trespassing" sign, file an order of protection against Purl or even consider moving out of the neighborhood where he, Cowson and Purl lived, but Williams insisted he was not afraid of Purl.

"He told me he had a gun at his house, and it was for his protection," Underwood said.

The next day, Williams again called police, claimed Purl had brandished a weapon at him and asked under what circumstances he could shoot Purl, Underwood said.

The situation came to a head Sept. 20, when Williams killed Purl during a verbal altercation, Cowson testified.

Cowson's nephew, Keymen Lane, then 16, and his friend Christopher Bryant, then 18, said they were leaving Cowson's home after dinner when they saw Williams, who asked Lane to deliver a message to Cowson, Lane testified Tuesday.

"The question was, quote unquote, 'Was she still going to do that for me?'" Lane said. "... She said that she didn't get to it."

Lane said he took the message back to Williams, who then sent him back to ask Cowson to give him a bottle of bleach and let him see her baby.

Before Lane could talk to Cowson, Purl stopped him on the porch, told him not to relay anymore messages, then yelled to Williams to stop sending messages, Lane testified.

The men exchanged words, and Purl left the porch and approached Williams, Lane said.

Bryant described the verbal altercation as "a childish argument" over "silly things," such as whose power had been turned off and whose car was running.

Childish or not, the argument escalated. Bryant said he was expecting a fist fight until Williams pulled a gun out of his pants.

"I was standing there until he pulled his gun out, and that's when I started making my way up the street," Bryant testified.

Cowson said Williams shot Purl, who then ran from him.

"He chased him, and he kept shooting, and Darcus dropped to the ground," she said, breaking into tears.

Booth questioned why, in her initial statement to police, Cowson did not mention Williams' conversation with her nephew the night of the shooting or the July incident in which she claimed he had pulled a gun on Purl.

"I was so shooken up, that wasn't even on my mind," Cowson said. "... I was still trying to process what I had seen."

Witnesses

Purl ended up in front of Boyd Abbott's home in the 600 block of Locust Street.

Abbott heard the gunshots and looked outside to see Purl on the ground, with Williams standing over him, he testified.

Abbott said Purl wasn't moving, but Williams was walking around him and appeared to be firing shots into the ground.

Abbott called 911.

Marcus Taylor testified he was visiting with friends that night in the 900 block of South Sprigg Street when he heard six to nine gunshots, followed by a break of three to five seconds and then another set of gunshots from what sounded like a different weapon.

Police recovered eight spent 9 mm shell casings and four spent .40-caliber rounds from the area, Cpl. Jeff Bonham of the Cape Girardeau Police Department testified Tuesday.

Cowson said the second set of shots came from somewhere behind her.

Woodruff said the second shooter, whose identity is unknown, apparently was trying to defend Purl.

As he ran, Williams was struck in the legs and sought help from neighbors, according to testimony Tuesday.

Taylor said he was about to go inside his friend's house on Sprigg Street when a man in a plaid shirt ran up and said, "They're after me."

The man kept running after Taylor's friend told him to get away, Taylor said.

He didn't run far.

Melissa Robbins, who lived in the same block, testified she was in her living room, watching television, when Williams broke in, pointed a gun at her and ordered her to call 911 because he had been shot.

Robbins said before she could finish dialing, police officers -- who later testified a man had flagged them down in the street -- came into the house and arrested Williams.

But Commean showed Robbins a 2012 statement in which she told a police officer Williams never pointed a gun at her.

Robbins said her testimony in court was accurate. She acknowledged the discrepancy between the two stories but could not account for it.

"I don't know," said Robbins, who told Commean she was recovering from surgery at the time of the shooting and had been taking prescription medications for pain, depression and bipolar disorder.

Williams' trial continues at 9 a.m. today in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court in Jackson.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

100 Court St., Jackson, MO

600 block Locust Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

900 block South Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, MO