New charges in Kamarie Holland case reveal more about what reportedly happened during killing
Already facing a capital murder charge in the Dec. 13 death of 5-year-old Kamarie Holland, Jeremy Tremaine Williams faced new accusations Wednesday in Russell County Circuit Court.
Williams, 37, came before Judge David Johnson on charges of abusing a corpse and producing child pornography, plus capital murder in the course of kidnapping, rape and sodomy.
Authorities announced Dec. 29 that they would pursue most of those charges , but they did not cite abuse of a corpse at the time.
Alabama law says abusing a corpse means the suspect “knowingly treats a human corpse in a way that would outrage ordinary family sensibilities.”
Wednesday’s hearing lasted less than 2 minutes. Johnson read the charges to Williams and appointed Chuck Floyd, representing Williams on the original charges, as his lawyer for the new charges.
The warrants filed for those new charges disclose further details in the case.
Investigators have probable cause that Williams strangled Kamarie to death “by ligature.” The abuse of a corpse charge stems from Williams allegedly raping her body, according to warrant documents.
Johnson consolidated the new and previous charges, so they will travel through the court system as one case. As he previously did, Johnson implemented a gag order against attorneys publicly disclosing details of the case, and he ordered Williams to continue to be held in jail without bond.
After the hearing, Floyd told reporters “to my knowledge” Williams is cooperating with authorities on the case.
Russell County chief assistant district attorney Rick Chancey told reporters, “It troubles us, the information that we have found out. We will be ready for trial when it gets there and get to the truth and the bottom of this as soon as we can.”
The next step will be a preliminary hearing or a grand jury hearing, Chancey said.
Asked when that would be, he said Williams’ case is among approximately 20 murder cases and 10 capital cases pending in Russell County.
“Because of the facts on this case, we’d love to get this in (this year),” Chancey said. “In the other cases going on, we have victims we want to get their cases tried just as bad. So I think it will depend a lot on COVID and how we’re going to be able to get court scheduled this year.”
Besides Williams, investigators have arrested Kamarie’s mother, Kristy Marie Siple, also known as Kristy Hoskins, charging her with sex trafficking and three counts of felony murder based on rape, sodomy and first-degree kidnapping. Siple, 35, faces life in prison.
Authorities accuse the mother of trafficking her daughter to Williams, but have not disclosed what Siple allegedly received in return. Judge Johnson has issued a gag order that prohibits those involved from disclosing details of the investigation.
Siple reported the girl missing from the mother’s 1607 Bowman St. home in Columbus the morning of Dec. 13, said Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor. The girl’s body was found around 11 o’clock that night at a vacant house Williams once occupied on 15th Avenue in Phenix City, next to West End Cemetery.
The girl had been asphyxiated and sexually assaulted, Taylor said.
Investigators arrested Williams that same night at the Bamboo Hotel on Opelika Road in Phenix City, but they did not charge the child’s mother until Dec. 28, after further investigation.
Staff writer Brittany McGee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 1:15 PM.
