Woman found guilty of three counts of murder in Rowland Heights slaying
A Rowland Heights woman was found guilty Thursday of three counts of first-degree murder in the 2007 deaths of her husband and two young sons in the family’s townhouse.
Manling Tsang Williams, 31, could face the death penalty because the Pomona jury also found her guilty of the special circumstances of multiple murders and lying in wait.
On Aug. 7, 2007, Williams called authorities to report that she had come home from grocery shopping at 7:30 a.m. and found her husband and her children dead. At the time, neighbors told The Times that Williams ran from her house screaming that her husband had been injured.
When Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrived and searched the house, they found the bodies of Neal Williams, 27; Devon Williams, 7; and Ian Williams, 3. Prosecutors say Williams stabbed her husband to death with a sword and smothered their two sons, who were in their bunk beds in an upstairs bedroom, with a pillow.
Manling Williams was arrested for the murders on Aug. 8.
A medical examiner testified during the trial that Neal Williams had been slashed and stabbed more than 90 times with a Samurai sword.
The jury returned its verdict one day after closing arguments and final instructions. Testimony in the penalty phase begins Friday, during which the same jury will have to decide between the penalty of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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