Child rapist and murderer sentenced to four death sentences for the brutal killing of a five-year-old girl

PHENIX CITY, AL - On Monday, April 15th, a judge sentenced a man who murdered, raped, and brutally assaulted a five-year-old girl from Georgia to four death sentences for the horrific crimes he committed. 

According to the Associated Press, Russell County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson was the one who handed down the sentence to Jeremy Williams, who murdered, raped, and brutalized then five-year-old Kamarie Holland in 2021. A jury found Williams guilty of four counts of capital murder, among other charges.

Holland's mother told police that when she woke up at 5:30 a.m. on December 13, 2021, her daughter was missing and the front door to their Columbus, Georgia, home was open. Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor told reporters at the time that the young girl's body was later found that night at an abandoned home in nearby Phenix, City, Alabama where Williams once lived. 

Testimony given at Williams trial revealed that while living in Columbus at the time of the murder, Williams raped and strangled Holland after offering her mother $2,500 for Holland to perform oral sex on him. Video evidence shown to jurors captured officers finding Holland's body and of William's sexually assaulting the young girl. 

Kristy Siple, Holland's mother, plead guilty in March to human sex trafficking. She faces up to 20 years in prison plus a $10,000 fine and registering as a sex offender. She's also facing charges of child endangerment in a separate case, according to court records. 

After Williams' conviction, Holland's father, Corey Holland Sr., urged the judge to sentence Williams with the death penalty. Holland Sr., said, "His life compares nothing to Kamarie's." According to WRBL, Williams confessed to raping, sodomizing and killing Kamarie Holland. His brutal crimes were captured on his own cell phone video and shared with the jury.

As he walked from the courtroom for the final time in the six-day trial, he was asked repeatedly why he did what he did, but he never answered the question. It could take decades for Williams to be executed. Russell County District Attorney Rick Chancey, who is 55-years-old, said that he suspects it will take a while for the execution to be carried out. He said, "At its current pace, I'll die before he does. My life expectancy right now is probably shorter than his."

Other people talked about the impact the case has had on them and offered up their own opinions of Williams. The convicted killer's ex-wife called him, "soulless," adding, "You are no longer worth my tears." A now-23-year-old woman who was four when Williams allegedly molested her described him as a "monster."

Sheriff Taylor said that this was one of the hardest cases his office has ever had to investigate. He said, "If there's ever been somebody that's deserving of the death penalty it's Jeremy Williams. He's another type of evil that we in society just don't need walking around." Sgt. Jane Edenfield was one of two Columbus Police officers to find Holland's body in the basement of the abandoned Phenix City home. 

She sat in the courtroom during the sentencing with about six other Columbus Police Department officers. She said, "Heartbreaking. Heartbreaking. To hear the other victims and to know how much he's done. And as one of them said, it took this long." Chancey said that what Williams did goes back to 20 years earlier to another little girl that he admitted to molesting.

Chancey said, "He's not going to answer that question, but I know why he did it." Chancey explained, "I started to ask the two last witnesses, how does it feel knowing that this man was being driven by the memory of a four-year-old. It happened nearly 20 years ago and in his mind, a sick memory of how he felt about a four-year-old 20 years ago has been in his mind and driving him for 20 years. That's why he did it. He's fantasizing about a child, but he's not going to say that on record."

The jury foreperson came back for the sentencing, something that is not required.  Stacy Mote, the jury foreperson said, "This was a very difficult case to endure and I am sure you saw all of the emotions on our faces. On behalf of all the jurors involved, we are proud of the young victims and witnesses that came forward to speak their difficult truth because we know that was excruciatingly painful. By coming forward, they all gave a voice to little Kamarie. No child should have to endure what happened to her."

In addition to the four death sentences, Williams was sentenced to life in prison for production of obscene material of child and human trafficking; 20 years for conspiracy of human trafficking; and 10 years for abuse of a corpse.