Israel Reyes (San Antonio Police Department)
A 23-year-old woman in Texas has been arrested for allegedly shooting and killing her 41-year-old boyfriend in front of their infant baby after investigators say her claims of self-defense were belied by the boyfriend’s injuries and other evidence.
Israel Reyes was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of murder in the slaying of Zachary Aaron Williamson, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the San Antonio Express-News, officers with the San Antonio Police Department got responded to a shooting at The Preserve at Westover Hills apartment complex in the early morning hours of April 6.
Reyes reportedly called 911 and told the emergency dispatcher that she had just shot her boyfriend, claiming self-defense and saying that Williamson “wasn’t supposed to come here” because of a court-issued protection order.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found Williamson unresponsive in the dining room, the Express-News reported. He appeared to have suffered a single gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead.
In an interview with detectives, Reyes reportedly said that she and Williamson — allegedly homeless — were dating and shared an 8-month-old child. However, Reyes also notified police that she got a protective order against Williamson after he allegedly assaulted and restrained her against her will in February.
Court records show that Williamson was arrested on Feb. 19 and charged with one count of making a terroristic threat of family or household member and one count of unlawful restraint. He was released after posting bond on March 17.
According to the report, Reyes said that after she and Williamson had dinner together at the house that evening, she texted “an acquaintance” and fell asleep.
She then said that she woke up to Williamson screaming at her about the messages she had sent, and when she told him to leave, he allegedly refused and instead covered her mouth with his hands and pushed her multiple times. She described Williams as having “crazy eyes,” San Antonio NBC affiliate WOAI-TV reported.
A fight reportedly ensued, and at some point, Reyes reportedly said she grabbed the gun and fired a single shot, hitting Williamson in the head and killing him. However, police noted in the report that she “refused to answer additional questions about the shooting” and could not provide a coherent timeline of what occurred just before the shooting, according to the Express-News.
As investigators continued to look into the circumstances of the shooting, multiple witnesses reportedly provided statements that undercut Reyes’ story about the shooting, including Reyes’ sister, who police say told them not to trust anything Reyes said.
The Express-News reported that Reyes had recently struck Williamson with a lead pipe and stabbed him with a knife and scissors. Police also reportedly obtained text messages from Reyes in which she told friends about assaulting Williamson, who would not report her to the police because of the protection order against him. Hospital bills reportedly supported claims that Williamson had recently been injured numerous times.
An autopsy showed that Williamson had suffered “dozens” of injuries before being shot, “including bruising to his legs, shoulders and arms; six circular bruises on his rib cage that wrapped around to his back; cuts on his back; and 16 puncture wounds to the top of his head,” police reportedly wrote.
The puncture wounds are said to have been caused by Williamson being pistol-whipped with the handgun just before dying, the medical examiner reportedly said.
Additionally, the medical examiner said that Williamson suffered defensive wounds that included “four circular puncture wounds and three cuts on the palm of his left hand, and large cuts on his left and right forearms.”
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