Insets, from left: Monica Williams (Memphis police) and Anitra West (Keeper Memorials). Background: The Church's Chicken in Memphis, Tenn., where Williams killed West (WHBQ).
A Tennessee woman will spend decades behind bars for murdering a Church's Chicken employee after an argument over a refusal to pay for her food.
Monica Williams, 47, was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for the slaying of 48-year-old Anitra West in Memphis, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office said. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The ordeal unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. on July 8, 2024. West, a Church's Chicken employee, got into a heated exchange in the drive-thru with Williams after the customer did not want to pony up for her food, a probable cause arrest affidavit said.
"I will kill you," Williams, who was sporting purple hair at the time, yelled at West.
Williams drove off.
West wanted to get some air to cool off after the argument so she went outside and called a friend. She was chatting with her for a few minutes when Williams returned.
"This same girl with the purple hair I just got into it with just pulled back up on the parking lot," West told her friend.
The friend later told cops that she heard a single gunshot followed by the screams of other employees.
Cops rushed to the scene where they found West suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She later died at a hospital.
Memphis police released photos of the suspect and the vehicle used in the incident. The woman who owned the vehicle called police and said she was with her 10-year-old son when Williams asked if they were hungry.
They had coupons for Church's Chicken, so they decided to go there. The woman said they went to the drive-thru, where they placed two orders. "The employee seemed to become upset," so they decided to "skip" the one of the orders due to the tense exchange, she said. Things became "heated" but there was nothing physical.
Williams drove the woman and boy home and said she was going to go to a store to buy some chips. Williams returned home but never mentioned the shooting. The vehicle's owner called police when she saw it on the news.
Cops arrested Williams and charged her with first-degree murder. She entered a plea deal for second-degree murder.
Anthonette Stevens, West's mother, told local NBC affiliate WMC that her daughter took her job seriously.
"And her standards for working are being there, being on time, and doing what she needs to do," she told the TV station. "Being there for the customers and also her employees, she didn't want to leave people in a lurch all the time. Working in food service is difficult, but she never seemed to tire of it, just kept doing it and doing it."