On February 5, 2011, 49-year-old Clarence McWilliams was found dead inside the CarQuest auto parts store in Baton Rouge where he worked. He and a co-worker were discovered in a back room by the co-worker’s wife. Investigators believed cash had been taken from the store, and the scene was treated as a robbery-related homicide.

Police focused on a 21-year-old employee from another CarQuest who missed his shift around the time the killings were thought to have occurred. He was located at a different CarQuest location, confessed during questioning to killing both McWilliams and his co-worker, and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery. The charges carried the possibility of the death penalty.