Royces Givens

Royces "Cici" Givens, a 32-year-old Black woman known for her quiet nature and good spirit, was a beloved family member and a dedicated employee at FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee. Her sister, Carleen Givens, remembered her as a private person who loved animals and took great pride in her long dreadlocks. To her friends and coworkers, she was simply "Cici," a hardworking woman who generally kept to herself. The Givens family had already endured tragedy in 2016, having lost Royces's brother to a heart attack in February, making her sudden death even more devastating for her loved ones.

In the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, October 18, 2016, Royces’s life was cut short in a senseless act of violence. Shortly before 4:00 a.m., after finishing her shift at FedEx, she was sitting in her car at the Roma Mart gas station at the intersection of East Mallory Avenue and South Lauderdale Street in South Memphis. Surveillance video from the station captured a man walking up to her vehicle, shooting her multiple times, and then fleeing the scene on foot. Police responded to find Royces, who had just purchased a bag of chips from the convenience store. Her death marked the 182nd homicide in Memphis that year.

The Memphis Police Department immediately launched an investigation into the shooting. Detectives, including Sergeant Eric Kelly, processed the scene, recovering two .380 caliber shell casings near her body. In the initial days, with no suspect identified, Royces's family was consumed with grief and fear. Her sister Carleen expressed a painful lack of faith in the justice system, worrying that Royces’s case would become just another unsolved murder file. "We don't even have any faith in the police department or nothing," she said at the time. "I just really feel like she's just going to be another cold case."

However, the investigation progressed swiftly. Relying on the gas station's security footage and detailed descriptions from multiple witnesses, detectives were able to identify a suspect. A few days after the shooting, the Memphis Police Department issued a warrant and arrested 21-year-old Christopher Williams. He was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Royces Givens's death. The news of the arrest brought a wave of overwhelming relief to her family.

When a reporter informed Carleen Givens of the arrest, her despair turned to joy and gratitude. "Yes, yes, yes, yes! Thank you Jesus! Great, great, great!" she exclaimed. "I appreciate Sgt. Kelly and the Memphis Police Department's hard work. Even though I did not have faith in them, they proved me wrong." While the arrest brought a measure of justice, it could not answer the family's most agonizing question. "Now I just have one more question," Carleen said, "and that question is, why?"

Christopher Williams was subsequently tried by a Shelby County jury. During the trial, Williams admitted to being present at the scene but denied being the shooter, attempting to place the blame on another individual. However, prosecutors presented his recorded confession to another person as evidence against him. The jury found him guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The court sentenced Christopher Williams to life in prison for the murder of Royces Givens. He also received a concurrent sentence for the firearm conviction. Williams later appealed his conviction, arguing that his confession should not have been admitted as evidence and that the evidence was insufficient. In January 2022, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court's judgments, upholding the life sentence. The case is now considered closed, with the perpetrator held accountable for the violent and tragic end to the life of a woman remembered for her hard work and gentle spirit.