Killer sentenced to 54 years in prison after violent stabbing murders committed just 2 days after previous jail release in Seattle

John Marcel Williams, 45, was convicted by a King County jury in March on two counts of first-degree murder in the October 2022 killings of Maryanne Wooden, 55, and Howard Hicks, 53. Jurors also found that Williams used a deadly weapon during both murders and agreed with prosecutors that the crimes were committed shortly after his release from incarceration.

According to court records obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Williams had been released from custody on October 28, 2022, after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an earlier Seattle case. Two days later, on October 30, he carried out what prosecutors described as an extraordinarily violent double homicide.

Seattle police were called to an apartment near South Michigan Street on the afternoon of Oct. 30, 2022, after two people were found dead inside. Investigators reviewing surveillance footage discovered that Williams had been seen entering the apartment with Wooden at approximately 3:20 pm and leaving six minutes later with what appeared to be blood covering his hands.

Police later located Williams walking nearby with cuts and bleeding injuries to his hands. During an interview with detectives, Williams admitted he knew Wooden and identified himself in surveillance footage but claimed he could not remember entering her apartment or explain why he was seen leaving with bloody hands.

Medical examiner findings detailed the horrific nature of the attack. Wooden suffered at least 102 sharp-force injuries, including a deep wound across her throat, at least 16 wounds to her head and neck, 14 wounds to her chest and back, 45 wounds to her right arm and shoulder, multiple wounds to both hands, and a fractured upper arm.

Hicks suffered at least 57 sharp-force injuries, including wounds to his head, neck, chest, back, abdomen, arms, and hands. Investigators found the tip of a broken blade embedded in his skull. He also suffered injuries to his jugular artery, diaphragm, kidney, and lung.

Prosecutors argued that the number of wounds demonstrated premeditation, noting that Williams inflicted more than 100 sharp-force injuries on Wooden and more than 50 on Hicks. "The gruesome violence of the defendant's actions is all the more alarming for the amount of time it would have taken to deliberately inflict each of those wounds," prosecutors wrote in court filings.

The case also highlighted Williams' lengthy criminal history spanning more than two decades. Court records show that Williams was convicted of second-degree robbery in Oakland, California, in 2003. After violating probation, he was sentenced to three years in prison. In 2012, he was convicted of obstructing an executive officer in Contra Costa County. Two years later, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in Oakland and sentenced to two years in prison.

Williams' criminal record continued to grow in the years that followed. In 2016, he was convicted of vehicle theft in Sacramento County and received a 32-month prison sentence. In 2018, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in Contra Costa County and sentenced to five years in prison. That same year, he was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Stanislaus County, resulting in an additional 16-month prison sentence.

Prosecutors noted that Williams' record also included convictions for drug offenses, petty theft, trespassing, providing false identification, driving without a license, property destruction, and multiple assault-related offenses. In Seattle, he was convicted of misdemeanor assault and property destruction stemming from a June 2022 incident. He was later arrested again in September 2022 for a series of assaults at a Seattle restaurant. That case ended with guilty pleas to three assault charges on Oct. 28, 2022, after which he was released from custody. According to prosecutors, Williams committed the murders less than 48 hours later.

The jury ultimately found Williams guilty on both counts of first-degree murder on March 26, 2026. Prosecutors sought consecutive sentences along with deadly weapon enhancements, citing both the severity of the crimes and the fact that the murders occurred almost immediately after Williams returned to the community following his latest incarceration.