ST. LOUIS – A man serving a life sentence for the 2019 murder of an East St. Louis, Illinois, woman has been charged with the shooting death of a St. Louis man, which took place on the same morning.

Timothy Stokes was convicted in 2023 in St. Clair County Circuit Court for the murder of Michelle Williams.

Williams, a mother of two, had been staying at an East St. Louis shelter for women who are experiencing or near homelessness. Just before 5 a.m. on June 30, 2019, East St. Louis police were called to a gas station and convenience store near State and North 83rd streets for a shooting.

Police found Williams outside the business. She’d been shot several times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Williams was 24.

About an hour after Williams’ murder, troopers with the Illinois State Police spotted a man walking in the median of northbound Interstate 255 near I-64. That man resembled the description of the shooter given by witnesses.

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When troopers approached the man, he opened fire and hit at least one of the police cruisers. One trooper fired back and the man ran into the woods. I-255 and the area was closed for hours as law enforcement conducted a manhunt.

One trooper fired back. The man ran into the woods, sparking the manhunt. I-255 in the area was closed for hours. Eventually, the man, later identified as Stokes, was found hiding in an abandoned home and was arrested without incident.

Stokes was eventually convicted of murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm toward a police officer. He received a life sentence for murder and 20 years on the latter charge.

At present, Stokes is in custody at Menard Correctional Center, located in Randolph County, Illinois.

On Jan. 12, 2024, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Stokes with killing Brian Culton in the Patch neighborhood of south city.

Culton was shot and killed outside the front door of his home in the 200 block of Upton Street just before 4 a.m. on June 30, 2019. His home was found riddled with bullets.

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Culton, a Marine veteran with 11 siblings, was 65. His family said Culton had fallen on hard times recently and was homeless. He met and befriended Williams, who was also homeless at the time.

Investigators linked the gun used in Williams’ murder to the same weapon used to kill Culton.

Police claim that after waiving his Miranda rights, Stokes admitted that he “killed two (expletive) people, man,” and referred to himself as a hitman. He told investigators that he went to Culton’s home to rob him. When Culton refused to hand over any cash, Stokes said he shot him and took his money anyway. Stokes lamented that he only got $100 from Culton.

Prosecutors and police also claim that Stokes got into an argument with Williams about the robbery and shot her as well.

Neither police nor prosecutors specified if the two murders were connected.

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