Jury deliberates murder case where victim was dismembered
Jurors in the trial of the man accused of murdering and dismembering his partner in an indoor marijuana-growing operation began deliberations Tuesday without having heard live testimony from the defendant.
Attorneys for Joshua Williams, 27, did not put him on witness stand.
The jurors have, however, viewed a videotaped interview of Williams telling Honolulu police he and another man killed Jamil Khan in April last year in self-defense, dismembered Khan’s body and disposed of it in a curbside trash bin.
Police have not recovered Khan’s body.
The other man, Michael Connolly, 25, is scheduled to stand trial in February.
Williams also told police he drove Khan’s sport utility vehicle to Waipahu and set it on fire.
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In closing arguments, Williams’ lawyer, Myles Breiner, said his client voluntarily admitted he killed Khan, 24, because the killing was self-defense, not murder.
"It would have been a perfect crime if he remained silent," Breiner said.
Breiner said Khan had become a radical sympathizer of Muslim terrorists fighting Americans in Afghanistan, armed himself with an AK-47 assault rifle all the time and threatened to kill Williams and Connelly, with whom he had a partnership in an indoor marijuana growing operation in Williams’ rented Makakilo home.
Prosecutor Kristine Yoo said Williams waited 10 days after Khan disappeared to tell police he killed Khan "because he had a chance to get rid of every single piece of evidence."
Williams told police he got rid of the hammer he said Connolly used to hit Khan 10 times in the head and the hand saw they used to dismember Khan’s body, and that they used Chlorox to clean up Khan’s blood in the home.
Yoo said Williams was ultimately caught because, "He didn’t bank on his friends ratting him out."
Williams is facing additional charges for the indoor growing operation, for driving Khan’s SUV and setting it on fire.
Breiner told the jury Williams admits to first-degree marijuana promotion, unauthorized control of a vehicle and arson but disputes methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia possession.
