The heartbroken father of an Indiana tourist shot dead on a Brooklyn front porch said Friday his son would have tried to befriend the killer had he not opened fire.
Moments after William Freeman, 26, pleaded not guilty to a second degree murder charge in the murder of 20-year-old Ethan Williams outside his Bushwick Airbnb on October 23, 2020, the victim’s father was asked about his slain son.
“He would have invited that guy on the porch to hang out if he hadn’t shot him,” Jason Williams replied when asked how he wanted his son to remember him.
“He would have liked to be his friend.”
Ethan had lived a lifelong dream of visiting the Big Apple and was in town producing a skateboard movie when he was shot while sitting on a porch with friends outside his rented Airbnb.
Freeman managed to evade the cops for more than two years before they finally arrested him On Nov. 3, after a car he was driving in was pulled over by police, prosecutors said.
He reportedly confessed to the crime while in police custody and told cops he mistook Ethan and his buddies for a group that killed his cousin weeks earlier.
Outside court, Freeman’s attorney Jay Schwitzman said his client made a ‘false confession’ and was allegedly forced to admit to the crime after police promised he could go home if he did. he disclosed what had happened.
“My position is that this is a false confession. Once I get the details and look into it, I’m confident that ultimately you will see that promises have been made. made, officially or not, to induce him to make false statements,β Schwitzman said.
He also questioned the strength of other evidence against his client.
“They say it’s such a strong case, but two years have passed and there hasn’t been an arrest of my client until (last week), so that’s another factor that we will examine during this investigation,” the defense said. said the lawyer.
“There is no explanation as to why. If they have such a strong case, why didn’t they arrest it in the two-year period that this incident took place? So I will look into that as well as false confessions.
Ethan’s parents said they wanted justice.
βIt’s all really sad. We miss Ethan, we look forward to justice,β Ethan’s mother Susan Williams said.
“He was a good boy. He didn’t deserve any of this.
Freeman was charged with murder and possession of weapons last week and was returned to Rikers Island during the brief arraignment, where he made no comment beyond answering yes or no questions. nope.
“Ethan Williams was a kind and compassionate young man who had his whole life ahead of him,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
“His visit to New York was the culmination of a lifelong dream and his untimely and unnecessary death is horrific and heartbreaking.”
Those close to Freeman have not commented on the matter. He is due back in court on February 23.
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