North Carolina authorities on Thursday arrested a man in connection with the disappearance and murder of 25-year-old Fayetteville woman Heather Williams.
Williams was reported missing on Jan. 4, when she was last seen getting into a light-colored, four-door sedan just before 10 p.m. in the area of Berkshire Road, according to the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD).
The FPD Homicide Unit, with assistance from the department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, arrested and charged Tyrell Jaquez Siermons, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, with first-degree murder in connection with Williams’ death.
Authorities located the 25-year-old woman dead in “a wooded area near Newark Ave. and State Ave.” on Jan. 10, six days after she was reported missing.
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The suspect has a lengthy criminal history in Cumberland County, court records show. He is also facing an out-of-state probation charge from Jan. 16 — the same day he was charged with first-degree murder — meaning he was on probation in North Carolina when he was accused of a crime in another state.
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His other priors, dating back to 2011, include charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony possession of a firearm, being a habitual felon, common law robbery, robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony probation violation, breaking or entering and larceny.
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The FPD did not comment on any kind of relationship between the suspect and the victim but did say the vehicle that Williams was last seen getting into on Jan. 4 is ultimately what led them to Siermons.
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Police said Williams had a cognitive impairment, which her family said was the result of being hit by a car in 2015, local outlet WRAL reported.
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Heather’s sister, Mary Williams, told WRAL that she contacted a man listed on Heather’s phone log around the same time she left home on Jan. 4. She asked the man what kind of car he drove and if he had picked up Heather that evening.
“He said he met her on Facebook, either through Facebook Dating or Messenger, he couldn’t remember which. He said he hung out with her one night, but he wasn’t sure if it was Saturday night,” Mary told the outlet.
Mary added that she followed up with the man later, who told her, “Yes, the car that picked her up was that car.” She believes Siermons is the same man she contacted from Heather’s phone, according to WRAL.
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Siermons is currently being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond.
Fayetteville police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective E. Alrafai at (910) 723-0327 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477).
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