A Honduran national, Hector David Sagastume Rivas, age 21, has entered a plea of not guilty to several charges, including the murder of a Cobb County grandmother, Camillia Williams. FOX 5 Atlanta has reported that the suspect, who U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement states was in the United States illegally, also faces charges of aggravated assault, rape, aggravated sexual battery, and necrophilia in connection with Williams' death.
Rivas, who waived his scheduled court appearance, is alleged to have physically assaulted 52-year-old Williams, placing her in a chokehold and causing her to lose consciousness, before subsequently applying his knees and full body weight on her neck until she perished. Found in the bushes of a yard on the 200 block of Pat Mell Road, the body of Williams was uncovered on March 14. Arrested on March 18, Rivas has been in custody at the Cobb County Jail without bond since the arrest, as stated by Atlanta News First.
ICE officials, in speaking to FOX News days after Rivas' arrest, revealed that he entered the U.S. illegally on March 17, 2021, and was ordered removed on July 11, 2023, following his capture by the U.S. Border Patrol. Despite enforcement measures, Rivas remained at large until his intersection with the criminal justice system for the current charges. After his detention, an immigration detainer has been lodged with the Cobb County Jail by ICE.
As the family reels from the loss of Williams, who was a mother to five children and the family’s only Georgia resident, tragedy stirs deep-rooted anxieties about border policy and immigration enforcement. "He was kind of stalking her, waiting for her to be by herself, then he strangled her," Arsene Williams, Camillia’s brother, told FOX 5, reflecting the family's distress and the immediacy of their grief that informed their conviction that her life might have been spared under different circumstances. "My sister took her last breath in Georgia, so he needs to take his last breath in Georgia," Tony Williams said, conveying a sentiment of retribution by the indomitable hand of justice.
The unfolding case sets the stage for the next legal procedures, with Rivas' trial anticipated to commence on the morning of June 23. The court has scheduled a hearing for June 18, foreshadowing the complexities of law, the nuances of immigration policy, and the stark human cost that the community of Cobb County now must confront in the solemn arena of the courtroom.
