Mistrial declared in Williams double-murder case

A juror whose son died by gunfire sent a note to the judge in Rick Williams' double-murder trial, realizing he should have disclosed that information.

The juror's gut was right, but the note came too late. The judge in the case declared a mistrial Thursday morning.

The note, although written earlier in the trial, only reached Judge Stephanie McDonald after the alternate jurors already had been dismissed.

McDonald declared a mistrial, following two full days of testimony and nearly an entire day of deliberations.

Williams, a 26-year-old North Charleston man, admitted to killing his roommates on New Year's Eve of 2010. He testified that he shot 58-year-old Nathaniel Lonnie, after Lonnie attacked him with a sword, and that he shot Lonnie's 44-year-old girl friend, Angela Ferguson, after she came after him with a box cutter.

Attorneys said the case should head to trial again in a few months.

Read more in Friday's editions of The Post and Courier.