Murder charge filed in shooting of St. Paul mother of three

A St. Paul man fatally shot a mother of three after she broke up with him and kicked him out of her home, according to murder charges.

Shakee Shabazz Miller-Brantley, 28, was charged Monday in Ramsey County District Court with one count of second-degree murder with intent in the killing of Jessica Williams.

Williams, 27, was found dead about 9:30 p.m. Friday in her home in the 500 block of Charles Avenue. Her two older children were found unharmed in the house. It's unclear where they were when the shooting occurred.

According to the complaint: Williams was two hours late to pick up her infant from day care, so a family emergency contact was called. The contact took the child to the family's home. Williams' two older children opened the door and said they didn't know where their mother was.

"When the contact entered the residence, she saw blood in the kitchen area that led down to the basement," the complaint said.

The woman left the house with the children and called police.

Authorities found shell casings in the living room and kitchen and discovered Williams' body at the bottom of the basement stairs with a shirt covering her face. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police arrested Miller-Brantley about 10 a.m. Saturday at his mother's house in the 300 block of Arundel Street. They searched his mother's home and found a pair of shoes with apparent bloodstains, the complaint said.

Miller-Brantley told police that he and Williams met in school and had dated for the past five months. He said she had "put him out" and started talking to other people, according to the complaint.

Miller-Brantley first told police Williams had nagged him Friday so he left her home and hadn't seen her since. But when he was confronted with information about her death, he told police she was "talking crazy" and threatening him and was carrying a bag he thought could conceal a gun.

"I thought she was trying to rob me," Miller-Brantley said, according to the complaint.

The complaint said he confessed to shooting Williams in the front hallway near the kitchen as she backed away from him. He said he carried her into the basement and placed a shirt over her face because he didn't want to see her or want her kids to see her, the charges said.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that Williams died of five or six gunshots to her scalp, neck and upper left body.

Miller-Brantley's criminal record includes convictions for financial fraud, theft, fourth-degree assault on a police officer, first-degree aggravated robbery, domestic assault and disorderly conduct.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708