AMEILA COUNTY, Va. -- Multiple law enforcement sources tell CBS 6 suspect Dana William, in the hours after the murder of Woodell Brooks, was seen on surveillance video at a Central Virginia gas station. The video has not been released to the public.
But Brooks’ widow Olene Brooks, now allegedly William’s hostage, was nowhere in sight.
Days before the hostage situation in Amelia County, law enforcement sources say 43-year-old Dana William had inappropriate sexual contact with a teenage girl inside a Maybuery Drive home in western Henrico.
Dana William
Neighbors say it's the same home where SWAT team members and undercover agents searched Friday, hours after Woodell Brooks was found dead inside his Amelia home.
Shawntae Smith, Brooks granddaughter, said the family had been held hostage last Thursday and then her grandmother was abducted.
"In order to charge capital murder, there has to be something specifically in the statute, like two murders within a three-year period or the murder in commission of some sexual offense," said CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone.
Law enforcement sources say Woodell Brooks was tied up and strangled with zip ties. They say the cause of his death is murder. William was recently out on parole from a previous rape conviction. He served two years of a 40 year sentence, 38 year were suspended. Family members say this violent rampage is his way of revenge.
Olene H. Brooks and Woodell Brooks
"Usually on a violent rape like he's convicted of, you serve way more time than just a couple of years,” said Stone. “It's an indication there was great reluctance on the victim to testify which more than likely, hamstrung the prosecution.”
William is now on the run and where he is remains a mystery. The US Marshal Fugitive Task Force, state police and deputies are working all leads trying to arrest one of Central Virginia's most wanted, who they say is armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Amelia County Sheriff’s Office at 804-561-2118 or 911.
