A Michigan couple will spend decades for the brutal torture and murder of a 7-year-old boy. Alisha Hollamon and Avion Traylor, 25 and 23, respectively, killed the boy, Hollamon’s son, in what was described as a “demonic, ritual-like crime.”
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Fox 2 reported that Hollamon was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison on Thursday, October 2. Traylor, meanwhile, was sentenced to 28 to 60 years behind bars. Both of them previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Deshawn Williams’ 2023 death.
Judge Paul Cusick was left disturbed by the graphic details of Deshawn’s murder, saying, “It was one of the worst things, probably the worst thing I’ve seen or heard.” Similarly, Assistant Prosecutor Tina Ripley shared in court that Deshawn was “absolutely brutalized.”
“There are just simply no words to describe how absolutely brutalized Deshawn was,” Ripley said, as per The Detroit News. “Based on the facts and evidence we have, Deshawn lived a nightmare.”
Brutal Murder
According to a release issued by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy, the incident occurred on October 22, 2023. At around 12:08 a.m., Detroit Police Department (DPD) officers responded to a Hurlbut Street residence after receiving reports of child abuse.
Upon arrival, police found Dewaye with “apparent scars and abrasions across his face, back, and chest.” The 7-year-old was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Detroit News, citing Prosecutor Ripley, reported that police found a bloodied basement that had been cleaned. Black light revealed blood in the room, and police also found many bloodied items that had been used as weapons.
Furthermore, video footage showed Traylor carrying a “lifeless, moaning” Deshawn down to the basement, the outlet reported. Hollamon is seen entering and exiting the room multiple times, eventually coming upstairs “in a panic.”
Ripley said in court that the injuries that caused Deshawn’s death were inflicted in a single day. However, the aforementioned scarring showed past and prolonged abuse at the hands of Hollamon, his mother, and Traylor, her boyfriend.
Alisha Hollamon and Avion Traylor were arrested and charged with felony murder, first-degree child abuse, and torture. These charges were dropped when both accepted their plea agreements, pleading guilty to second-degree murder instead.
While delivering a victim impact statement, Krystal Hollamon, Deshawn’s aunt, called the murder a “sick, demonic, ritual-like crime.” While ignoring Alisha, she called Traylor evil, saying that his mother “gave birth to a demon.”