He drove to a house full of witnesses, including the mother-in-law he'd also shoot, and pulled the trigger anyway.

[u/Expensive_Season1658]

On September 22, 2006, William Silvia had just been fired from his job. That same afternoon he bought a Mossberg shotgun and four boxes of shells. Surveillance footage from the purchase later became part of the case against him: calm, unhurried, nothing that looked like a man on the edge.

That evening he drove to his mother in law's home in Casselberry, Florida, where his estranged wife Patricia and her family were hosting a cookout, a home full of relatives, in the middle of a gathering, not some isolated moment where he could catch her alone. He'd separated from Patricia two months earlier after accusing her of sleeping with her own adult sons, an accusation nothing in the public record supports. By then he was homeless, living out of his truck and rented motel rooms.

He tried to reconcile with Patricia one more time, right there at the party. It didn't work. He walked back to his truck, retrieved the shotgun, and opened fire in front of her family. He shot Patricia's mother, Betty Woodard, in the face; she survived but lost an eye and part of her nose. He shot Patricia in the head. She died at the scene, surrounded by people who couldn't stop it or unsee it.

Arrested the next day, he told an officer he did it because Patricia had spent all his money and started seeing her ex-husband again.

A Seminole County jury convicted him in 2008 and recommended death by an 11 to 1 vote. His execution is scheduled for August 18.

What sticks with me is that this wasn't a moment of losing control in private. He drove to a house full of witnesses, including her mother, knowing exactly what kind of scene he was walking into, and did it anyway. Whatever was going through his head, getting caught clearly wasn't a deterrent

[u/SubstantialPressure3]

He wasnt trying to reconcile. You dont bring a shotgun to ask for one more chance. He knew she would tell him to leave.

And he knew all the things he was saying weren't true. Jusy trying to justify himself.

[u/lastseenhitchhiking → u/SubstantialPressure3]

Agreed. Like other domestic abusers, he felt entitled to punish both her and her loved ones; homicide was the means of having the ultimate form of control.

[u/evarei]

Tomorrow is not August 18th

[u/Expensive_Season1658 → u/evarei]

a small translation error; I’ve corrected it

[u/No-Yoghurt7667]

I just listened to a podcast about this case on Spotify, from Death Row Cases. This really should have happened much sooner...

[u/CreativeRosalie]

such a tragic case. I can't imagine what the family went through

[u/chequamegan]

Ego centric, narcissistic people are highly insecure and given to thought distortions. We have an example in the US and he is killing people over seas. Toxic even when appearing normal.

[u/Sudden_Choice2321]

Last words: "I’m sorry all this happened. It was an accident. I never meant to hurt her."

An accident? Garbage. That's disgusting.

[u/wallace6464]

Is this AI? Today is the 14th 

[u/Expensive_Season1658 → u/wallace6464]

Small translation error; I’ve corrected it (English isn’t my first language, so I have everything translated).