PENNSYLVANNIA
A federal jury on Monday who found Jessie Con-Ui, guilty of first-degree murder of federal prison guard Eric Williams, sentenced him to life in prison, according to officials.
On June 7, 2017, the same jury convicted Con-Ui, 40, of “willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought” killing Officer Williams while he was engaged in the performance of his duties at the Canaan Federal Correctional Complex, U.S. Penitentiary, in Waymart, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 25, 2013.
The evidence indicated that Con-Ui, armed with two sharpened weapons (commonly known as “shanks”), positioned himself at the top of a metal stairway as Correctional Officer Williams ascended the stairway leading to the second floor of a housing unit within the prison.
Con-Ui kicked Correctional Officer Williams down the stairs and then stabbed him over 200 times with the weapons.
Con-Ui also repeatedly kicked and stomped on Correctional Officer Williams, causing massive fatal injuries.
At the time of the murder, Con-Ui was serving an 11-year federal sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, imposed by a federal court in Arizona in 2005.
Con-Ui was also serving a concurrent life sentence for first-degree murder imposed by the Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008 for the 2002 murder of Carlos Garcia in Phoenix, Arizona, according to officials.
“I extend my sincere condolences to Officer Williams’s family, colleagues, and friends. The murder of a dedicated public servant in the line of duty, under such heinous circumstances, strikes at the core and soul of our nation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco. “We hope and pray that Officer Williams’s family will find some closure with the conclusion of these proceedings, and knowing that his dedicated service will always be remembered by a grateful nation.”
“A correctional officer has one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement. Eric Williams was performing that job at USP Canaan, when was he blindsided and brutalized by Jessie Con-Ui,” said Michael Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The heinous violence inflicted upon Correctional Officer Williams cost a dedicated federal officer his life. At the Philadelphia FBI, our hearts go out to the Williams family and all who knew and loved Eric.”
At the time of his death, Officer Williams was 34 years old, and a resident of Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania.