Opening Statements Delivered in Trial for Man Accused of Committing 2020 Stabbing Two Days Before His Birthday

By Inacent McKeithan [former] - May 2, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On May 2, a Baltimore man acquitted of murdering a 2-year-old in a 2022 trial appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays for the first day of trial in connection to the fatal stabbing of 49-year-old Eric Jones.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the prosecutor petitioned the court for a postponement due to a material witness not arriving. The assistant state’s attorney insisted that she was “under the impression” that the witness would come following a discussion with a detective assigned to the case. 

Linda Zeit, the assistant public defender representing defendant Darius Williams, challenged the prosecutor’s motion, stating that since the defendant’s case had a “pending” status for “some time,” there would be an objection to “any postponement requests.”

Judge Mays denied the assistant state’s attorney’s motion for postponement and issued a warrant for the witness with the intent to allow testimony at a later date during the five-day trial. 

“Moving forward, get your witnesses in line,” said Judge Mays to the prosecutor before opening statements were delivered. 

The assistant state’s attorney went on to reveal the circumstances surrounding the case. 

On July 27, 2022, Williams, 35, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon with intent to cause injury in connection to the stabbing of Jones. 

The assistant state’s attorney claimed that, on June 25, 2020, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Jones and Williams engaged in an altercation that escalated when Williams allegedly “pinned the victim to a wall” and stabbed Jones “over 20 times.” 

“You will hear from the medical examiner exactly how many times Mr. Jones was stabbed,” said the prosecutor. 

The assistant state’s attorney continued to remind the jury that “no one intervened to help,” and “a concerned citizen” stumbled upon the stabbing while driving and “flagged down a nearby officer” before “circling back and helping the victim.”

In her opening statement, Zeit urged the jury to consider the incident location, as the area “sees its share of crime.” Zeit went on to highlight that the suspect description provided by nearby witnesses did not contain “distinguishing factors,” and officers “canvassed the area and did not find anything.” 

Zeit added that an eyewitness was unable to identify Williams in a series of photos shown three days after the incident. 

The public defender concluded by emphasizing that despite being brought into the Baltimore City Police Department’s homicide division for questioning and providing a DNA sample on May 17, 2021, formal charges were not brought against Williams until April 2022. 

This trial is scheduled to continue on May 3.