A 25-year-old Virginia man shot a childhood friend eight times and left him to die on a living room floor following a dispute over a TV.
Steven Edward Williams Jr. was convicted of second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a murder in the shooting death of 24-year-old Norman Hollowell Jr. in Norfolk, according to prosecutors.
The shooting occurred on July 24, 2024, at an apartment complex on Pretty Lake Avenue. Williams went to Hollowell’s apartment armed with a gun and waited outside. Williams’ brother had previously lived with Hollowell and left a TV behind when he moved out several months earlier.
The brother had said he would return to retrieve the TV but never did, prompting Hollowell to sell it. On the day of the shooting, Williams learned that the TV had been sold and repeatedly called Hollowell.
At the time, Hollowell was babysitting his young nephew while making food deliveries. He eventually answered one of Williams’ calls and told him to meet at his apartment.
The victim locked his nephew inside his car and texted his mother, “I love you,” before entering the apartment, where Williams was waiting. Williams testified during trial that he did not know the TV had been sold, but prosecutors presented evidence showing that he did know because he had seen it on Hollowell’s Facebook page.
Hollowell offered Williams another TV, but the victim became upset after spotting two other men walking toward his apartment. Two minutes later, doorbell camera footage captured Williams carrying a gun as he and the two men, who were holding a TV, ran out of the apartment.
Police later found Hollowell lying on his living room floor with multiple gunshot wounds. A medical examiner determined that he died from blood loss.
Williams claimed he acted in self-defense and testified that Hollowell pointed a gun at his face. Prosecutors, however, said there was no evidence to support that claim.
After the shooting, Williams deactivated his Facebook account and discarded the gun, which authorities later recovered.
The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning a guilty verdict.
“The legal standard to prove someone’s guilt as charged is high; the standard for the defense of self-defense is much lower. After considering the evidence and their instructions, the jury came to the same conclusion that we did: Mr. Williams was not acting in self-defense, and he was guilty of murder,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Williams took the life of someone he had known since childhood. I grieve for Mr. Hollowell and for his family, and I hope that this verdict brings them some closure. At sentencing we will seek a term of confinement for Mr. Williams that reflects the harm he has committed.”
Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18.