ANN ARBOR (WWJ) More than four decades after the crime, a Washtenaw County Circuit Court jury has convicted a Chicago man for the disappearance and presumed murder of his baby daughter.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Isiah Williams, 78 and now of Chicago, was found guilty on one count of felony murder and one count of first-degree pre-meditated murder in connection to the 1982 disappearance and presumed murder of his then-8-month-old daughter, Olisa Williams.
"Olisa Williams was born Aug. 10, 1981 in Ann Arbor," the press release on the initial charges against Williams read. "Her mother, Denise Frazier-Daniel, never got to celebrate her daughter's first birthday."
Nessel's office said Williams ripped the baby from the arms of her mother during a physical fight in April of 1982 and ran away with the child to Michigan, where Olisa was last seen alive that summer. It's been more than 40 years, and her body was never found. According to Nessel, she is presumed dead.
The couple was living in Ohio at the time of Olisa's disappearance, but both of them had friends in Michigan. According to Nessel's office, Isiah Williams also had a "long history of domestic violence."
Frazier-Daniel "never gave up looking for her daughter," the initial announcement of charges stated. She became active with missing person organizations, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and remained in contact with police.
In early 2021, Ann Arbor police requested the Department of the Attorney General review the case. The Department brought an Open Murder Charge against Williams in October 2021.
"Thanks to the unwavering commitment of our law enforcement partners, who spent years following every lead in this tragic disappearance, and the dedicated efforts of prosecutors in my office, Olisa's family can finally see a measure of justice served," Nessel said in the press release about the conviction. "I hope this conviction may bring some peace and healing to Olisa's loved ones."
Williams will be sentenced on July 10 in Washtenaw County.
Ann Arbor Police released the following statement:
In 1983 the Ann Arbor Police Department first became involved in the search for 10-month-old Olisa Williams. In the more than 40 years since Olisa went missing, our department has never given up hope in bringing her mother justice. Since 1983, the AAPD has had multiple detectives working this case and in 2011 the case was reopened and assigned to Detective Dan Iverson.
Detective Iverson's lengthy investigation led to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office issuing charges against Olisa's father, Isiah Williams. On October 5, 2021, Williams was charged with open murder in the disappearance and presumed death of Olisa. A few days later, AAPD detectives arranged to have Williams arrested in Chicago.
This afternoon a jury convicted Isiah Williams of first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder for killing Olisa. We are thankful to Attorney General Nessel's Office for bringing charges in this case and finally bringing closure to Olisa's family."
