BUNNELL, Fla. — A Flagler County jury has recommended the death penalty for a Bunnell man convicted of killing his wife in 2024.
The jury voted 11-1 Wednesday to recommend that Jermaine Williams Sr. be sentenced to death for the murder of 50-year-old Yolanda Williams.
The recommendation is not the final sentence. Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols will consider additional arguments during a hearing in August before deciding whether to impose the death penalty or life in prison.
Williams was convicted of first-degree murder last week following a two-day trial. Jurors deliberated for about 20 minutes before returning the guilty verdict.
Investigators said Williams stabbed his wife 19 to 20 times outside their Bunnell home on Aug. 2, 2024.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, the couple’s 14-year-old son witnessed the attack and tried to intervene. Williams’ father arrived during the stabbing and held him at gunpoint until he moved away from the victim.
Surveillance video showed Williams entering the home and returning with an 8-inch chef’s knife before attacking his wife, prosecutors said.
Williams later admitted retrieving the knife and stabbing his wife, telling detectives that something she said had “pushed him over the edge,” according to prosecutors.
Bunnell Police Chief David Brannon said the verdict and jury recommendation followed extensive work by Bunnell police, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office.
“No verdict or sentence restores what was stolen from them, but we hope today’s outcome provides a measure of justice and, in time, a measure of peace,” Brannon said.
The judge will impose Williams’ sentence after the additional hearing. The State Attorney’s Office previously detailed the conviction and evidence presented during the trial.
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