A Tuscaloosa man pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his ex-wife after being released from prison over a small loan

A Tuscaloosa man has pleaded guilty to the 2020 murder of his ex-wife in west Alabama.

Travis Terrell Williams, 41, has been charged with the murder of his wife, 49-year-old Maronda Parker Williams.

District Attorney Andy Hamlin, who represents Alabama’s 24th Judicial District, said Williams pleaded guilty this week to two counts of murder. District Judge Sam Junkin sentenced Williams to two consecutive life sentences.

“I am pleased that we were able to achieve justice for Ms. Williams and her loved ones without subjecting them to an emotional and difficult trial,” Hamlin said Friday.

“My sincere hope is that he spends the rest of his life behind bars.

A friend found the victim dead in her home on Alabama Highway 19 East outside Fayette on January 21, 2020. Williams said the victim was stabbed by re-producing the documents.

Authorities described Parker Williams’ death as a brutal attack.

The ex-husband had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence in Tuscaloosa County when he visited his ex-wife’s home on January 19, 2020.

He made the trip because she agreed to loan him money and became violent when she offered $50 less than the $250 he had asked for, Hamlin said.

Parker was found dead two days later. She suffered multiple injuries from the attack and investigators recovered two bloody knives from a trash can outside the house.

Evidence at the crime scene showed that Williams had broken a window and arranged items in the house to make it look like a break-in had occurred.

He then threw his ex-wife’s phone, wallet and shoes into an outdoor gas station on Highway 43 North as he was on his way home to Tuscaloosa.

“Defendant Travis Williams has a long history of violence and our community is safer with him behind bars,” Hamlin said. “This case highlights the importance of supporting victims of domestic violence and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

The case was investigated by agents from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.