Gerald Paravicini, 46, was killed in the early morning of February 15, 1992, in the Irvington-Bentley area of southern Mobile County, Alabama. Court records say Jason Oric Williams had been living with Gerald and Clair Paravicini for about two weeks. After a night of drinking and drug use Williams returned at daybreak, was let inside by Jeffery Carr, and during a phone argument with his estranged wife armed himself with Gerald’s .22-caliber rifle and hollow-point ammunition.

Jeffery Carr was shot in the face first. When Gerald rushed to help he was shot in the chest and neck; wounded, he ran into the street where he died. Clair Paravicini was beaten in the face with the rifle when she could not produce car keys, and her purse, cash, and belongings were taken before the violence continued at a neighboring home where multiple members of the Barber family were shot and one survivor ran for help.

Authorities identified Williams as the sole suspect, he fled in the Barbers’ van, was apprehended the next day in Mississippi with the stolen vehicle and ammunition, gave a statement after Miranda warnings, and was later tried, convicted of capital murder and attempted murder, and sentenced to death. The records do not state Gerald Paravicini’s ethnicity. Did anyone in the area know Gerald or remember him and his family in 1992?