In November of 2020, D’Anthony Williams was convicted at trial of Aggravated Murder in the First Degree for the murder of Kayla Chapman, who was working as a cashier at Holt’s Quik Chek in Kelso in the early morning hours of January 22, 2019. The murder occurred during an armed robbery that was captured by Holt’s surveillance system. This surveillance was played for the jury during the trial. It showed Williams, who was wearing a mask, rob Chapman of cash, cigarettes, and a phone prior to shooting her with a 9-millimeter handgun. Chapman died as result of the gunshot.
Originally, Williams, who was 19 years old on the date of crime, received a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole. However, in 2021 the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the statute requiring a mandatory life without parole sentence was unconstitutional for adults ages 18-20. Because of this ruling, Williams was required to be resentenced. The State requested the court again sentence Williams to life without the possibility of parole. Williams’ attorney requested a sentence of 25 years. The court sentenced Williams to 50 years in prison. The State was represented by Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Bentson at the resentencing hearing. Mr. Bentson and former Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tom Ladouceur originally represented the State at trial. We appreciate the excellent work of the Kelso Police Department detectives in this case. We hope this sentence can finally bring closure to Chapman’s family as they continue to grieve her loss.