CLAYTON, Mo. — A Wayne County teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of his younger brother.
Williem A. Taylor, 18, of McGee pleaded guilty to the Class A felony of first-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action Wednesday before 21st Circuit Court Judge Joseph Walsh III in St. Louis County.
Taylor allegedly shot his 13-year-old brother, Ricky, in the back of the head with a shotgun on Oct. 24, 2018.
Deputies were called to a single-wide mobile home on Highway Z in McGee at about 5:30 p.m. that evening. According to the probable cause statement by Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Shannon Sitton, Taylor’s younger brother was found dead in the kitchen, having suffered an “apparent close-contact gunshot wound to the head and numerous gunshot wounds to the upper torso and arms.”
Taylor reportedly was taken into custody after he emerged from the woods adjacent to the home.
After being taken into custody by juvenile authorities at that time, Taylor reportedly said that he and his younger brother had been in the “mother of all arguments” and that he accidentally shot his brother.
Taylor reportedly told authorities he and his brother arrived home at about 4:30 p.m., Sitton said.
“(Williem) said he and Ricky had been in the ‘mother of all arguments,’” Sitton said. “(Williem) said he accidentally shot Ricky with a shotgun.
“(He) said he did not know the shotgun was loaded, and it inadvertently went off, hitting Ricky.”
After the shooting, “(Williem) said he then took a .22-caliber rifle, jacket and a backpack and left the residence,” Sitton said. “(He) said he went into a wooded area, took a nap and then walked back to the trailer, falling down a hill and then coming into contact with the law enforcement officers at his house.”
When asked about the rifle, Sitton said, Taylor said “this was going to make it sound so much worse. (He) said he shot Ricky approximately five more times with the .22 before he left.”
Although Taylor initially described the shooting as accidental, Sitton said Taylor later changed his story to “say he was trying to scare Ricky with the gun when it went off.
“(He) said he was using the shotgun as a scare tactic, but did not think it was loaded.”
Taylor’s case initially was in the juvenile court system, but after a 2019 certification hearing classified Taylor as an adult, a warrant was issued July 24, 2019.
Taylor is slated to appear before Walsh again Thursday, Sept. 22, to be sentenced. He faces up to life in prison.