FITCHBURG, Ma. -- Dana William, the Amelia man wanted for killing a man and abducting a woman late last week, shot himself as police in Fitchburg, Massachusetts moved in Wednesday morning, federal law enforcement sources confirmed to WTVR CBS 6. William was taken to the hospital where he was listed in critical condition, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Now officials are continuing to ask the public for help finding abduction victim Olene Brooks.
William shot himself as police and U.S. marshals were executing a search warrant at a Massachusetts home.
William, 43, was named as an armed and dangerous suspect late last week when Olene Brooks, 68, disappeared and her husband Woodell Brooks was found dead in their Amelia home. Law enforcement sources said Woodell Brooks was murdered. William is the father of one of the Brooks' grandchildren.
Amelia grandmother taken hostage after family zip-tied, duct-taped
Before Brooks' abduction, William allegedly zip-tied, duct-taped and held her family hostage at gun point.
"He told me in order for me to save my family, I would have to call my mom to the house,” Brooks' daughter Sheila Smith said. When she refused, she said things intensified. "He tied [my daughter] with zip ties and tied my friend up with zip ties, then tied me and my son up."
He then sent a text message to Brooks using her granddaughter's phone, law enforcement sources said, to lure the grandmother to the Poorhouse Road home. Brooks' daughter said the text asked Brooks to bring a thermometer over because the four-year-old was sick.
William, who was recently released from prison after a rape conviction, served two years of a 40-year prison sentence because 38 years of that sentence were suspended.
Family members said last week's violent rampage was William's way of getting revenge on the Brooks family for the time he spent in prison.
Olene H. Brooks and Woodell Brooks
In addition, days before the hostage situation in Amelia, law enforcement sources said William had inappropriate sexual contact with a teenage girl inside a Maybuery Drive home in western Henrico.
The Amelia Emergency Squad and the Amelia Emergency Squad Auxilary have offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the location of Mrs. Brooks. In addition, the U.S. Marshals Service has offered an additional $2,500 for information about Brooks' location, for a total of $3,500.
Anyone with information can call the Amelia Sheriff’s Office at 804-561-2118 or the Amelia Crime Solvers at 804-561-5200.
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