A Tampa man on trial for murder has admitted to killing 23-year-old Mekiyana Williams, though he is disputing a separate charge that he raped her, according to testimony described in court proceedings. Thomas Sapp, 56, faces first-degree murder, sexual battery and child neglect charges stemming from Williams' 2023 death, and could face a possible death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder.
The admission and the dispute over the rape charge were detailed in a report by the Tampa Bay Times, published nearly three years and eight months after Williams' body was discovered. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office provided the photo of Sapp used in coverage of the case.
How the Case Began
The case dates back to the night of February 28, 2023, when Hillsborough County deputies responded to the Avenue Apartments on Ave Club Drive for a wellness check around 9:30 p.m. and found a person dead inside the unit, according to CBS 12. An infant was also inside the apartment and was found unharmed.
Detectives arrested and charged Sapp on March 3, 2023, with first-degree premeditated murder, sexual battery with serious injury and child neglect, per the same station's report. A separate account from the Tampa Bay Times' earlier coverage detailed testimony that Sapp had left the infant alone with Williams' body for 19 hours before the child was found.
Bond, Charges and Legal Exposure
A Hillsborough judge denied prosecutors' motion to keep Sapp jailed without bond shortly after his arrest, instead setting bond at $502,000 and ruling that he would be placed on house arrest if he made bail, the Times reported at the time. The charges filed in 2023 were first-degree premeditated murder, sexual battery causing serious injury, and child neglect.
Under Florida law, first-degree murder committed under the circumstances outlined in the statute is classified as a capital felony, according to Florida Statutes, § 782.04.
What Remains Unclear
Sapp's admission to killing Williams, paired with his dispute of the sexual battery allegation, places the central factual conflict of the trial squarely on that charge rather than on the question of who caused her death. Details of the evidence underlying the disputed rape charge, along with the trial's current status and any verdict, have not been made available in reporting reviewed for this story.
