Naman Shrestha
When Neal Williams was found brutally murdered in his California home in 2007, an investigation was launched to look into the case. What made this case all the more horrible was when his young sons were also found dead in their beds. In the episode titled ‘A Merciless Mother’ of Discovery+’s ‘Deadliest Mums & Dads,’ we get a detailed account of the harrowing case that shook the community to its core, more so the family and friends of Neal. In addition, it also includes exclusive interviews with Neal’s friends and officials related to the case.
Neal Williams and His Sons Were Killed in Their Sleep
Born on May 19, 1980, Neal Alastair Williams was brought into the world by Jan Williams and grew up to be a kind and considerate human being. Not only that, he was an equally strong person who stood up for his family and friends. After graduating from school, he began working a job at a local Subway sandwich outlet, where he met his best friend Mario Ramirez. A part of a marching band, 19-year-old Neal was introduced to Manling Tsang at a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A Los Altos High School student, Manling was a trombonist in a band and lived in Hacienda Heights.
Neal and Manlind began dating in 1999 and just a year later, in July 2000, they gave birth to their first son — Devon Michael Williams. Following the birth of Devon, they got married. In 2001, Neal began working as a janitor at Disneyland. After a couple of years, in September 2003, the married couple welcomed their second son Ian Harold Williams. Residing at 18200 in Camino Bello in Rowland Heights at the time of the tragedy, Neal stayed unemployed some years down the line and became a stay-at-home husband while his wife Manling worked. While at home, he was dedicated to his family, including his two kids, and tried his best to keep everyone happy.
Around 7:30 am on August 8, 2007, Manling claimed that she arrived at the Rowland Heights property from shopping and found her husband Neal and their kids dead. She let out a loud scream and called 911. When the investigators arrived at the scene of the crime, the police discovered that the 27-year-old man was slashed and stabbed more than 90 times with a 20-inch samurai sword. Meanwhile, they found Devon and Ian suffocated to death in their respective bunk beds.
A Close One Backstabbed Neal Williams and Suffocated the Kids to Death
The authorities delved deep into the case by interrogating the key witnesses as well as the loved ones of Neal Williams. When the detectives asked around, they found out that Manling had become quite aggressive and abusive towards Neal while she was employed as a waitress at the local Marie Callendar in 2001. One of her friends even testified that she had admitted that she had been unfaithful to Neal a couple of times. After several years of marriage, in the summer of 2007, Manling reportedly started an affair with her high school friend John Gregory after reconnecting with him via MySpace, just a few weeks before the fateful day.
Leading up to the day of Neal’s murder, Manling had asked some suspicious and unusual questions about murdering one’s abusive partner to her friends, possibly in an attempt to paint Neal as the bad guy. Soon, Manling gave an excuse of having to attend a work training exercise in Santa Barabara and went away with John for the weekend. But upon returning from the trip, something clicked in her, and the 29-year-old woman suffocated her sons with a pillow while they were asleep in their bunk beds.
She then typed a murder-suicide letter on her laptop pretending to be Neal and went out with her friends, presumably hoping that he would die of suicide after finding his children dead. However, when Manling found Neal still sleeping in his bed, she picked the heaviest and sharpest sword out of his collection and started stabbing and slashing him. When the investigators connected the dots after questioning Neal and Manling’s friends and family, it did not take long for them to arrive at the conclusion that the victim’s wife had something to do with his untimely death. Just a day after Neal and the kids’ murder, on August 9, 2007, Manling was indicted on three counts of murder in the first degree.
Manling Tsang is on Death Row in a Californian Prison
Three years later, Manling Tsang Williams’ trial commenced, and soon, on November 4, 2010, the jury returned with a guilty verdict for her first-degree murder charges. Her defense focused on the difficulties she had faced in her life, including learning disabilities, physical abuse, and repeated criticism, none of which justified what she did. However, the jury hung when it came to deciding her sentencing, caught between manslaughter and murder.
A second trial was convened in the following year, in August 2011. This time, in January 2012, the jury sentenced Manling to death and handed him the death penalty for his gruesome actions. Currently, without any possibility of parole, Manling Tsang is on death row behind bars at Central California Women’s Facility at 23370 Road 22 in Chowchilla, California.
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