Columbia man accused of murder appears in court

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who was accused of killing a woman on Friday appeared in court on Tuesday.

John L. Williamson III, 27, was charged Saturday with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. Williamson appeared in court Tuesday by video from the jail.

A bond investigation is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, while a preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 11.

Williamson is accused of killing Azairah Brownlee, 27, of Columbia. She was found lying on the ground Friday night with a gunshot wound to the neck, according to a probable cause statement. Police wrote that a witness to the shooting on Typhoon Court had tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure with a cloth. Officers tried to save Brownlee, but she died at the hospital, the Columbia Police Department said Saturday.

A witness told police that Williamson was Brownlee's ex-boyfriend, according to the statement. Williamson jumped into the bed of the truck that Brownlee and the witness were sitting in and began yelling, the statement says.

Brownlee got out and she and Williamson fell to the ground during a struggle, the witness allegedly told officers. The witness heard a gunshot then Williamson told the witness that he had shot Brownlee dead, according to the statement.

Williamson tried to conceal his phone calls after he left the murder scene and then turned his phone off, police say. Video evidence from the scene corroborated the witness' story, the probable cause statement says.

Williamson was charged in February with stealing a gun and drug possession. He was charged with in 2021 with unlawful use of a weapon for shooting at or from a vehicle, according to Case Net, in relation to an incident from 2020.