Minneapolis man found guilty of 2nd-degree murder of St. Paul woman

After a week-long trial, a jury has convicted a Minneapolis man of one count of second-degree murder.

Court records show 31-year-old Shakee Miller-Brantley was initially charged with two counts of second-degree murder, both without intent.

According to court documents, jurors found him guilty of one count and not guilty for the other due to mental illness.

A sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for the morning of Jan. 20. A complaint states the maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years in prison.

As previously reported, Miller-Brantley was 27 when he was charged for the death of Jessica Williams, also 27, of St. Paul.

A complaint stated police were called to a home on the 500 block of Charles Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. on July 19, 2019, to investigate a suspicious scene. Williams was almost two hours late in picking up her infant from daycare, and the daycare facility had reached out to an emergency contact to pick up the child.

When the emergency contact picked up the child, they then went to Williams’ home and found the door locked. The contact then had Williams’ two other children unlock the door for them. When they went inside, the contact found blood in the kitchen and left with the kids to call police.

When police arrived, they found multiple bullet casings and a blood trail inside. They then found Williams dead at the bottom of the stairs.

The complaint says the children told police a man they knew as “Sabash” had been staying at the home. Police were able to identify the man as Shakee-Shabazz Miller-Brantley.

Williams’ vehicle was also missing, and police later found it a little more than half a mile away from Miller-Brantley’s mother’s home, where he was staying. He was arrested at the home.

During an interview with investigators, Miller-Brantley said he and Williams had been in a relationship and got into a fight. He said he thought Williams had a gun and he feared for his life. He eventually told investigators he’d shot her multiple times and carried her to the basement.

Investigators found a gun while searching Miller-Brantley’s mother’s home that matched a .22 Ruger that Miller-Brantley said was his. The casings found at the Williams home were .22 caliber.

In an interview, Miller-Brantley’s mother told officers her son had schizophrenia with paranoia and had not been taking his medication, according to the complaint.