On 15 August 1993, the victim’s boyfriend, Richard Sharpe, found her dead in her apartment at 3316 DeSoto Street. She had been severely beaten and strangled and had been dead for several days. Her night shirt had been pulled above her waist. However, there was no trauma to her vagina, and no seminal fluid was discovered. Although the house was not ransacked, the house was not as neat as the victim usually kept it. Valuables had been left intact. However, one of three rings the victim wore had been removed, and a watch was missing. Initially, Sharpe was a suspect in the crime, but he was absolved.
On 24 May 1994, a group of the defendant’s friends went to police headquarters and reported that several nights earlier when they were with the defendant at a bar drinking, the defendant told them he had killed the victim, who had been his next door neighbor. He said that he had gone to her house to help her with her air conditioner, that she had bent over and he had seen her buttocks. He became aroused and started to have sex with her. Whether or not she had given her consent was not clear. During sex, he went “crazy” and began beating the victim in the face numerous times with brass knuckles.
He burned his clothes in a smoker at his girlfriend’s house.
The victim’s face had indentations in the pattern of brass knuckles. Several witnesses testified that the defendant had owned a pair of brass knuckles.
When the defendant was arrested, he immediately confessed after having been given his Miranda rights.
Remnants of clothes were discovered in the smoker. The defendant’s friend, Ryan Liner, testified that the defendant had given him the watch and the ring. He, in turn, had given the watch to his girlfriend, and pawned the ring. The watch was identified as the victim’s at trial.
Find-A-Grave: Deborah Ann “Debbie” Correge
William Silva v State of Louisiana 1997 (conviction and sentence affirmed)
William Silva v State of Louisiana 1998 (writ denied)
Movies/Documentaries
The Detectives Club: New Orleans: Murder By The Bayou
INMATE INFORMATION
Offender Name: SILVA, WILLIAM
Custody Status: In Custody
Age: 44
Location: Dixon Correctional Institute
Race: White
Contact Facility: Louisiana Department of Corrections
