ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Prosecutors here are asking the Missouri Supreme Court for time to investigate the conviction of a death row inmate whose DNA did not match the DNA found on a knife that was used to stab a woman to death in 1998.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s office said Friday that it sent a letter to the court last week asking it to delay setting an execution date for Marcellus Williams, who was convicted in 2000 of killing Felicia Gayle, a former Post-Dispatch reporter killed at her home in University City two years prior.
Bell’s office is now reviewing Williams’ claim of innocence to determine if the office would file a motion to vacate his conviction, under a 2021 state law allowing prosecutors to intervene in such cases.
“After review, we had concerns about this particular conviction, and at this time, the scope of our review has expanded to involve additional investigation we believe is necessary,†the office said in a Jan. 2 letter to the Supreme Court.
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Bell asked for six months to allow the office’s Conviction and Incident Review Unit to investigate, with pro bono help from the law firm of Lathrop, GPM.
King said ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Police are also conducting an additional investigation that they “believe is essential to determine whether this conviction is sound before the Supreme Court of Missouri takes any irreversible steps.â€
In 2017, Williams was hours from being executed when then-Gov. Eric Greitens issued a stay and invoked a state law to appoint a five-member panel of former judges to review whether Williams should be granted clemency in light of the new evidence.
Gov. Mike Parson dissolved the panel in 2023 after it didn’t issue a final recommendation and lifted a six-year stay of execution. Attorney General Andrew Bailey moved to set a new execution date.
In August, Williams sued the state alleging Parson improperly dissolved the board of violating Williams’ due process rights by trying to set a new execution date.
Gayle, 42, was killed at her home in University City in 1998. Prosecutors argued Williams was burglarizing her home when she surprised him. She fought for her life but was ultimately stabbed 48 times. Her purse and her laptop were stolen from the home.
Prosecutors said Williams also stole a jacket, which he used to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend testified at trial that she saw him that day and asked him why he’d wear a coat when it was so hot outside. She also said she saw Gayle’s laptop in a car and that Williams sold it.
Another witness called to testify at trial, Henry Cole, shared a cell with Williams in ºüÀêÊÓƵ while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors that Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.
But Williams’ attorneys have long argued that the girlfriend and Cole were both convicted felons who were seeking a $10,000 reward.
DNA evidence from the scene, examined in 2016, also exonerates Williams, attorneys say. A partial DNA sample found on the handle of the murder weapon came back for an “unknown male,†and hair found at the scene also did not match Williams’ profile.