SALISBURY — The state has completed the presentation of its case against Willie Earl Williams Jr., charged with two counts of first-degree murder, the defense has declined to present evidence and Williams will not testify.

According to police reports, Sabrina Curzi, 40, and Darryl Wright, 34, went to Towne Creek Park about 4 p.m. Aug. 3, 2018. They allegedly went to confront the men Curzi’s son Michael told his mother had beaten and robbed him. Once at the park, reports state both Curzi and Wright were shot and killed. Williams was charged with both murders.

During Tuesday’s testimony, Mary Katherine Marie Adkins, referred to as “Kat,” told the the court that at the time of the shootings in August of 2018, she was involved with Williams.

She said Williams and perhaps nine others were at a cookout at the park. She noted that Williams had told her none of the attendees had weapons on them because “several had ankle monitors on them.” She said Williams told her Michael Curzi, who she referred to as Mikey, had agreed to a “beat in” or assault in order to join a gang, but he had left the park. About 20 minutes later, Williams told Kat “Mikey’s mom and her boyfriend came to the park.”

According to Kat’s testimony, Williams told Kat that Curzi got out of the truck yelling slurs and demanding to know who put hands on her son. He said he initially tried to get Curzi to leave, saying it “was her son’s business and she needed to go.” But, according to what Williams reportedly told Kat, Wright took a swing at Williams, who returned the punch. Williams said Curzi then unleashed pepper spray from a can of Bear Spray, catching everyone in range. Williams said he heard gunfire, realized Curzi had a gun and that she was pointing at his head. He ducked and she shot him in the neck. He told Kat they struggled over the gun and he eventually got possession of it. He said he then shot Wright and then Curzi.

She testified that Williams and several others came to her home after the shootings and told her what happened, including a comment from Williams that “he had caught two bodies.”

One other man, Ronald Powers, known by the nickname “Cease,” also entered Kat’s house, while others, including Nairobi Mason, known as “Gunna,” remained outside the house. Mason, said Kat, had been shot in the backside and was screaming about it, and was made to leave.

Williams, whom Kat referred to as “Trey,” had also been shot in the back of his neck, Kat said, and she “thought he was going to die.” But Williams, she said, did not want to go to the hospital, because he was afraid of police. At one point he told her he had shot two people during an altercation and wanted to get away.

A recording of the 9-1-1 call made by Wright told a slightly different story of at least some of the events, according to the state. Assistant District Attorney Caleb Newman reminded the court that in the call, Wright sounds calm when he tells the dispatcher he does not yet see his son, and then a loud noise is heard. Newman said the loud noise was likely when Williams struck Wright, without provocation and not as a reaction to Wright hitting him.

Kat testified that after the shooting, she and Williams eventually left the area, spending a night in a hotel. During the night she said her back was burning because the pepper spray was still on Williams skin. She said it was several days before he began to act like himself again, recovering from the neck wound. The two traveled to Greenville, S.C., where Williams “knew people,” and Kat said she “didn’t have anywhere else to go,” so she went with him. While there, she said Williams talked about being bothered by what he had done. She eventually left Greenville without him after a particularly big argument.

Lead investigator in the case Lt. Jeremy Hill of the Salisbury Police Department also testified, saying he was a detective at the time and took on the case Aug. 6 when he returned from vacation.

He said approximately 25 people with relevant information were interviewed, but said not everyone was cooperative, not everyone was easy to find and not everyone told the truth.

One such person was Mason, who had gone to a hospital in Charlotte for treatment of a gunshot wound. Charlotte police notified Hill of Mason’s hospital visit, but the initial reason Mason gave turned out to be false. A swab of possible blood taken from a picnic table bench seat the day of the shooting matched to Mason’s DNA, providing he had been at the scene and been injured.

Kat was interviewed by Hill on Aug. 6 and 7, according to Hill, and she was the one who told police Williams was in Greenville.

The gun used in the shooting was registered to Wright, and according to Hill, six shots were fired, but only four shell casings were found. Kat told police during her interviews that Powers had thrown the gun on top of the shed at her mother’s house. That is where police found it.

At the end of the day’s testimony, the judge dismissed jurors early, letting them know closing arguments would begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, and they would receive instructions on deliberations afterward.

Once the jury left the room, the judge and both the state attorneys and defense attorney Doug Smith discussed how jurors would be charged, meaning what options they might have in their findings. Williams asked the judge if he would only give the jurors instructions on first-degree murder.

“Your honor, I was charged with first-degree murder, tried for first-degree murder and I’d like the jury of my peers to decide if I’m guilty of first-degree murder,” said Williams.

But Judge William Stetzer said he was not sure he could do that, because the law requires him to issue instruction if there is evidence of a lesser crime. In this case, as Newman had outlined and as testimony from Kat indicated, while the shooting of Curzi may rise to the level of first degree, evidence was presented that showed the shooting of Wright may not.

Stetzer may therefore offer the jury the choices of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or not guilty.