Florida police identify suspect in custody after teen Ryan Roger's 'deliberate' killing
Florida police say a 39-year-old "homeless drifter" is behind the killing of a teenage boy who went out for a bike ride two weeks ago and never came home.
Police announced charges of first-degree premeditated murder against Semmie Lee Williams Thursday morning in the stabbing death of Ryan Rogers, 14, calling, the suspect a "dangerous monster" and an "animal."
Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Clinton Shannon said Williams had a long criminal record, full of violence charges and stretching back two decades.
Williams’ most recent prior arrest came in Georgia in 2016, Shannon said – for assault and strangulation. That same year, California authorities labeled him a fugitive from justice on a warrant out of San Diego. And in 2014, he allegedly beat up a senior citizen in Atlanta. Other charges date to the early 2000s.
"The incident itself appears to be a completely random act – we do not have a motive in this case," Shannon said. "[It was] an innocent child victim having a chance encounter with a very violent criminal."
Court records show authorities booked him into Palm Beach County’s detention center around 10:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Ryan grabbed his bicycle and set out around 6:39 p.m. on Nov. 15, according to authorities. He failed to return home before the sun went down. By 10:30 p.m., his parents filed a missing person report.
Police found his remains the next day along Central Boulevard under the Interstate 95 overpass.
Investigators ruled his death a homicide and police said it looked like "a deliberate act."
