Deacon Jerome Williams Sr., 55, died unexpectedly at his home in Williston, South Carolina, on March 5, 2021. A longtime member of Young Rosemary Missionary Baptist Church, he served in the SC National Guard including a tour in the Iraq War and worked as a correctional officer. His obituary described his passing as abrupt.

On May 21, 2021, officers found Barbara A. Williams and her 26-year-old son, Jerome D. Williams, inside the family residence on Harlford Street; both had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene. Brandon Antonio Williams, 28, a son of Deacon and Barbara Williams, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder in the double homicide. An affidavit says a witness reported Brandon was the only person alive in the home shortly after shots were fired and that police recovered three handguns, two of which he admitted owning.

No arrests or publicly named suspects have been connected to Deacon Williams Sr.’s unexpected death two months earlier. Does anyone in the Williston area have information about Deacon Williams Sr. in March 2021 or recollections from the family’s home on Harlford Street?