Lansing man who inflicted 52 knife wounds in fatal attack convicted
LANSING — A Lansing man was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery Monday in connection with the killing of a 66-year-old man in late 2020.
Willie Charles Woods, who also is charged with brutally assaulting an Ingham County Sheriff's office deputy at the jail in January, will receive the mandatory sentence of life in prison without chance of parole when he goes before Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina in May.
A circuit court jury deliberated about three hours, forty minutes before convicting Woods, 27, in the murder of Erwin Stanley Bell, who was found dead in his apartment in the 5900 block of Richwood Street in late November 2020.
Bell suffered 52 knife wounds and blunt-force trauma to his face and one of his eyes, authorities said.
Woods was found inside a bathroom of the victim's apartment when police showed up to do a welfare check, said Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bill Crino, who tried the case.
The prosecution's theory was that Bell was killed in a robbery and that the killing was premeditated, Crino said. Woods claimed he was trying to collect a drug debt from Bell, but there was no evidence to corroborate that claim, Crino said.
Police recovered two long-bladed kitchen knives and a BB gun fashioned to look like a real gun, Crino said. Bell suffered 11 stab wounds and 41 other cut wounds and was struck six or seven times in the face, he said.
"The case was the result of a thorough and professional investigation by the Lansing Police Department," Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane said in a news release. The Lansing Fire Department, Michigan State Police and Sparrow Health System assisted with the investigation, he said. Assistant Prosecutor Elena Cisneros helped with the trial, he added.
Aquilina set sentencing for May 17.
Woods was represented by the Ingham County Public Defender's office, which could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Woods is still awaiting a preliminary examination on charges that he tried to kill a deputy at the Ingham County Jail on Jan. 10. Woods ambushed the deputy as she was completing routine checks and twice knocked her unconscious, according to testimony in a hearing that led to charges being issued against Woods.
A hearing to determine whether he should stand trial on the charges is set for March 14.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing man who inflicted 52 knife wounds in fatal attack convicted
