80-year-old woman 'living in a safe building' confronted stranger who bludgeoned her to death with a rock to 'keep the peace'

A Virginia antheral has pleaded blameworthy to killing an 80-year-old pistillate with a stone earlier this twelvemonth — bludgeoning her to decease successful a stairwell aft she questioned him astir whether helium lived successful her building.

Online tribunal records amusement Kurt Davis, 34, changed his archetypal plea of not blameworthy for the Feb. 19 sidesplitting of Susan Williams, of Crystal Spring, to blameworthy connected Monday aft prosecutors showed grounds successful tribunal that they were readying to present astatine trial, including video of him talking to Williams wrong her condo and attacking her, according to section CBS affiliate WDBJ.

Authorities were called to Williams' flat analyzable that Wednesday greeting successful the 2100 artifact of Yellow Mountain Road SE and recovered Davis lasting implicit her adjacent the southeast country of the gathering — extracurricular with a shovel — portion Williams was lying determination with "significant injuries," the Roanoke Police Department reported.

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"The preliminary probe determined the unfortunate was successful a hallway of the flat analyzable erstwhile she was assaulted," RPD officials said. "It does not look that the fishy and unfortunate knew each other."

Davis told cops helium killed the octogenarian to "keep the peace" aft encountering her successful a hallway wrong her complex, per WDBJ.

Surveillance video played successful tribunal by prosecutors showed Williams letting Davis wrong her building, according to the Roanoke Times.

"Words can't describe, I'm sure, what this assemblage is feeling close now, what these neighbors, what this vicinity is feeling close now," RPD Chief Scott Booth told reporters successful February. "The astir important happening for america is to marque definite that our lawsuit remains coagulated against this individual, and that helium is held accountable for the heinous execution of Ms. Williams," Booth said.

Court records amusement Davis had a assemblage proceedings scheduled to statesman connected Sept. 3 earlier helium entered his blameworthy plea Monday. He has a lengthy transgression past — including arson, battle and burglary — and was said to person been stateless astatine the clip of the killing, which landed him a first-degree execution charge.

"I person known Ms. Williams for 20 years," Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb told reporters aft her decease was archetypal reported, according to WDBJ.

"She was a person of mine; galore of her household members are friends of mine," Cobb said. "Like galore successful our community, I consciousness daze and choler close now."

Williams has been described by friends and household arsenic idiosyncratic who worked with aged residents successful the country done the Local Office connected Aging, with 1 workfellow telling WDBJ that "that was her emotion … to instrumentality attraction of seniors." She was reportedly the enforcement manager of the LOA for much than 30 years and worked with the Council of Community Services.

"Never dreamed that thing similar that would hap to her, particularly surviving successful a harmless gathering arsenic she lived successful that country of town," said co-worker Shannon Abell. "I'm wholly devastated and shocked."

Davis is owed backmost successful tribunal connected Dec. 1 for a pre-sentence report.