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Slain Teen's Family: 'He Didn't Live Long Enough To Fulfill His Dreams'

By Quinn Ford | November 3, 2013 8:28am
 Bobby Williams was killed Thursday morning in what police told family members may have been a robbery. Williams' parents said they do not feel police are giving their son's murder the attention it deserves.
Bobby Williams
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WEST PULLMAN — Bobby Lester had fallen asleep waiting for his grandson to come home from work Wednesday night.

Bobby Williams, 19, usually returned from his job at a UPS store downtown about midnight, Lester said, so when he heard his doorbell ring at 4 a.m., he thought it was his grandson at the door after a late night.

"I was getting ready to fuss with him about coming in so late and not calling," Lester said.

Instead, he opened his door to find a police officer. The cop told Lester his grandson had been shot.

About 12:50 a.m., police found the 19-year-old fatally shot in the 12100 block of South Union Avenue. Williams was officially pronounced dead on the scene 10 minutes later, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

"They said they found him laying on the grass," Lester said. "He had a bullet hole going into the left side of his head, and his gym shoes were gone."

On Friday, family said they were told police think Williams may have been killed during a robbery because his shoes were taken.

But Williams' father, Emery Williams, said he believed his son may have been targeted. He said the murder happened a year to the day after his son's friend, Earl Cunningham, was killed. He said some people in the neighborhood were having an anniversary party for Cunningham that night. Williams said he has difficulty believing the murder was "about some shoes."

"I feel like they made an example out of my son," Emery Williams said. "I'm hoping I'm wrong."

Emery Williams stood outside their West Pullman home Friday night with his wife and daughter remembering his slain son. The teen was respectful, a hard worker. He had just graduated from Percy Julian High School this past spring, his father said.

"I know he's no killer. He's no stick-up man," Emery Williams said. "My son was hardworking. He wasn't standing on the corner trying to sell drugs."

The slain teen's sister, Princess Williams, looked down at the ground as she described her brother.

"He was, he took care of us. He taught us a lot," the 15-year-old said before falling silent.

"She's real shook up," her father said.

Bobby Williams, the third of six, had dreams of joining the Marines, family said, but he enjoyed making money at his job and was saving up to buy a car.

His mother, LaDonna Williams, said Friday detectives had yet to talk to the family about the killing. She said when she called police for information, all they told her was her son was shot multiple times.

"He was a good kid," she said. "He didn't have a background. He wasn't a troublemaker."

But she said she fears police won't actively investigate the case, and the media does not seem to care either.

She said when the step-brother of rapper Chief Keef, Ulysses Gissendanner, was killed in January a few blocks from her home, reporters flocked to cover it.

Emery Williams said he also thinks police could do more.

"I don't think they're pursuing the case diligently," he said.

Williams' parents said they want justice for their son, and Bobby Lester said he hopes police find who killed his grandson.

But Lester said it may be hard in a neighborhood where people seem reluctant to talk to police.

Lester remembered his grandson as a typical teenager who had dreams of joining the service.

"He didn't live long enough to fulfill his dreams," he said. "That's about all I can tell you about how he died."