Crime lab found DNA matching that of Williams on the inside of the driver’s side door.
May 15, 2017
A fingerprint found on the outside of an 84-year-old murder victim’s car in August identified a 24-year-old man, who told police he was struggling to find a job and had nothing to do with the slaying.
Although Freddis Williams III’s story about his car breaking down at the LA Fitness parking lot did not add up, the fingerprint alone was not enough evidence for an arrest in a frustrating case featuring no witnesses and no video surveillance in broad daylight.
Chandler police identified Williams in a report from their own crime lab on Aug. 23, only five days after victim Shivaswamy Hosakote was found dead inside his car from multiple stab wounds in the gym’s parking lot shortly before 11 a.m.
But the critical piece of evidence arrived about six months later, when the Arizona Department Public Safety crime lab found DNA matching that of Williams on the inside of the driver’s side door.
“With this new information, there was now additional evidence to reinforce the exterior print in this case and show that this prior print was not just accidental and Williams was actually inside the victim’s vehicle,” a detective wrote in court documents.
Detective Seth Tyler, a Chandler police spokesman, said Hosakote was an innocent victim. Police viewed the slaying of the retired engineer as a crime of opportunity, but said the motive remains murky.
“This was a peaceful, elderly man who was going to work out. Not only is he killed but he is stabbed” multiple times by his attacker.
In a statement released to the media shortly after the slaying, Hosakote’s family praised his warmth, his wisdom and his booming laugh. It said he left behind a grieving wife. The couple had been married for 50 years.
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“Shivaswamy was a kind and gentle soul who touched the lives of many. Shivaswamy devoted his life to serve as an engineer for Maricopa County, and as an involved member of Phoenix’s India community. Shivaswamy was always willing to help others, taking care of all of us and spreading his warmth and joy to everyone he met,” the statement said.
“The family is shocked at this sudden and senseless killing and we are unable to comprehend who would harm such a warm and generous person. We wake up every morning thinking of Shivaswamy and how he suffered in his last moments,” the statement continued.
Hosakote was a regular at the gym, at Dobson and Warner roads, and was working out inside to avoid the summer heat during his usual walks around his neighborhood.
Police said they served a search warrant on a residence in early September where Williams lived at the time, before he fled to his mother’s house in Phoenix. Detectives found some handwritten notes akin to a diary and said they documented Williams’ “life stressors,” according to court records.
“The notes found indicated Williams was going through personal issues involving drugs and his wife. It is believed that these writings were motivation for the murder that was committed,” the document said.
Tyler said he does not have more specific information on a possible motive for the slaying, but he said it was clear that Hosakote was not specifically targeted and that the two men did not know each other.
Court documents said Williams was arrested at Sky Harbor International Airport and listed his occupation as a wheelchair attendant, a job that lasted only two days before his arrest.
Williams was charged in a direct complaint with second degree murder and was held in lieu of $200,000 bond, according to court records.
– Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or at jwalsh@timespublications.com.
