HAYWARD — A man charged with murder in the fatal stabbing July 23 of a neighbor at an apartment complex here is scheduled to enter a plea Aug. 19.
Chad Williams, 24, is accused of killing Thomas Boyd, 67. Boyd was found about 8 a.m. Saturday with multiple stab wounds on the ground near the pool at the apartment complex in the 24000 block of Amador Street. A large blood-stained kitchen knife was found next to him, police said. He was pronounced dead.
Police said Williams and Boyd lived at the complex but did not know each other.
According to authorities and court documents, after his arrest, Williams confessed to the killing but offered no motive.
According to court documents, after Boyd’s body was found police interviewed people at the complex, which led them to Williams as a possible suspect
According to the documents Williams showed up at Hayward police headquarters about 10:40 a.m. Saturday telling civilian personnel who he was and that he was depressed but not suicidal. He left before officers could respond.
A search warrant was served at his apartment just after noon and police found evidence that the knife used in the killing had come from there, including a sheath for it, the documents say. A probable cause arrest warrant was issued for Williams’ arrest later Saturday afternoon. He surrendered to Berkeley police Sunday evening.
According to court documents, Williams was on probation at the time of the stabbing for a September 2020 conviction for felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.
According to court records and prior media accounts, the conviction stemmed from a Berkeley case in March 2018 where Williams was charged with three counts of a sex crime involving a teenage girl at a downtown Berkeley apartment.
One count was later dismissed and in a plea bargain, the two remaining counts were eventually dropped, Williams pleaded no contest to the assault count and was convicted. He was placed on three years probation on Sept. 23, 2020. It was not clear how long he was in custody from the time of his March 2018 arrest until being placed on probation in 2020.
He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail.
Source: www.mercurynews.com