Williams, 39, and Candace Tai Townsel, 42, were convicted after a month-long trial in February of murder, robbery and elder abuse for the 2019 murder of 84-year-old Afaf Assad, according to The Press-Enterprise.
However, according to the Southern California newspaper, their sentences for robbery and elder abuse were stayed because those crimes were part of a single act. Instead, a sentencing enhancement was applied because a robbery was committed during the murder.
Around 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2019 at the Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula, Assad entered the casino bathroom with her 93-year-old husband Youanness Assad and a pink purse containing about $1,000 in casino winnings.
Kimesha Monae Williams
Kimesha Monae Williams Photo: Riverside County Sheriff’s Office
Prosecutors say that Townsel served as a lookout while Williams entered the bathroom, at one point preventing a custodian from entering. While no one witnessed the killing, a woman in a stall heard a thud when Assad fell to the floor, where she was later discovered by a casino employee.
Then, Williams left the bathroom and made a beeline with Townsel toward the casino’s exit. According to prosecutors, Townsel “skipped and waved her arms” as the two left the scene. Richard V. Swanson, an attorney representing Townsel, said in a court filing that his client had been on methamphetamine all night into the morning when Assad was killed.
Her “jubilant celebration,” he wrote, was because they were finally leaving the casino after many hours rather than over the murder that he said she was unaware of.
Assad died four days later from her injuries. Her large pink purse was never found.
During the trial, Riverside County Senior Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett told the court that a deep laceration was left on Assad’s arm, suggesting that someone had violently wrenched the purse away from her before she fell or was pushed.