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Ex-detective testifies in Marker case
In closed-door session, he answers questions on 1995 assault probe
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Former police Detective Don Williams, who has evaded attempts to question him about his investigation into a 1995 assault case, finally sat down with the Winston-Salem City Council, a citizens-review committee, and his attorney yesterday.
But the meeting was behind closed doors, with city officials contending that it dealt with personnel issues.
Afterward, the participants declined to discuss the details of what was said.
"I can't say a word, but it was a lengthy process," said Councilman Robert Clark. "That ought to tell you that there was a lot of conversation. It was civil."
Williams was the lead investigator into the beating of Jill Marker, who was attacked in 1995 at the Silk Plant Forest, which was a store off Silas Creek Parkway. Marker was pregnant and gave birth to a boy while in a coma. The attack has left her with permanent brain damage and injuries requiring 24-hour care.
Kalvin Smith, the man who was convicted in 1997 in the attack, has maintained that he is innocent. In January, he lost his latest bid for a new trial.
Williams had refused to testify in front of the citizens-review committee that has been studying the case. And he ignored a city-council subpoena for a hearing in December 2008. A judge then ordered Williams to obey the city council subpoena, which led to yesterday's hearing, which lasted for 4 ½ hours
The citizens-review committee had argued that Williams' testimony is vital to dealing with doubts about the case.
The review committee is scheduled to finish its work by the end of this month.
Al Andrews, an assistant city attorney, declined to comment about Williams' statements during the closed session, but he did say that Williams didn't answer some questions that his attorney objected to.
Carl Parrish, Williams' attorney, had previously said that Williams would decline to answer any questions that Parrish believed were outside of the scope of the review committee.
If city officials feel Williams declined to answer questions that were within the committee's scope , a possible step is to return to the judge who ordered him to testify and submit the questions for review and a ruling on whether Williams should be ordered to answer.
"That's a potential remedy," Andrews said. "I cannot tell you whether the city will pursue that remedy. It's a city-council decision."
The committee was originally charged with doing a comprehensive, fact-finding investigation, includinga review of whether police policies and procedures were properly followed.
The city council later clarified the scope, telling the committee that its focus should be on police policies and procedures.
The state law under which Williams was subpoenaed says that none of his answers could be used against him in any other legal proceeding.
Councilman Dan Besse said he is looking forward to the committee's final report about the case.
"We are looking hard about we can learn about any mistakes made in the Silk Plant Forest case to help us do the best possible job with police investigations," he said.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7302 or at <span>jhinton@wsjournal.com
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