Viswa Vanapalli
When Pamela Williams was killed as a result of a home invasion in November 2013, the case eventually tied into a notorious burglary ring that was prevalent in the neighborhood. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Murder Calls: Death Comes Knocking’ chronicles Pamela’s last moments and how the authorities caught the people responsible for her death, uncovering a pattern of similar attacks. So, let’s find out what happened then, shall we?
How Did Pamela Williams Die?
Pamela R. Williams was a Mobile, Alabama, native who graduated high school in 1988. Eventually, she got her Master’s degree in Business Administration and had been working as a manager at a Target store for more than a decade. At the time of the incident, the 43-year-old lived in the Amhurst Subdivision in Fulton County, Georgia. She was described as a loving and helpful person who always looked out for others. Pamela had even donated a kidney to her sister.
On the night of November 30, 2013, a frantic Pamela called 911 after someone broke into her house. Terrified, she hid in the closet but was shot while on the line with the dispatcher. The authorities found Pamela with a close-range gunshot wound to her head; she had been beaten and was unconscious. The beloved manager was rushed to the hospital but died several days later, on December 2, 2013.
Who Killed Pamela Williams?
Following the incident, the authorities canvassed the neighborhood for any information regarding Pamela Williams’ assailants. The security guard in the area, Jerry Link, said that he had seen four men run away in the area near Pamela’s house. He knew three of them from prior interactions in the neighborhood and identified them as Jonathan Banks, James Sims, and James Calhoun. They were arrested in December 2013. At the time, Banks was 23-years-old, while the other two were 19.
The police also found out that Sims and Calhoun still lived in the same neighborhood as Pamela, while Banks had done so in the past. In November 2012, a 9mm gun was stolen when there was a break-in at a residence in Fulton County. The police learned that a Twitter account supposedly belonging to Calhoun referred to having a firearm sometime after the break-in. Then a few months before Pamela’s attack, a similar burglary occurred at Melissa Burke’s home in Fulton County.
Like Pamela, Melissa was shot while hiding in a closet. However, she survived and called 911 after the burglars left, later identifying Calhoun as the shooter. At the time of the incident, the authorities were involved in pursuing a potential suspect. They recovered a cell phone dropped by him, which was later confirmed to be Calhoun’s. In the end, the police connected the three men to a burglary ring responsible for more than 100 thefts in south Fulton County, Georgia.
Where Are Jonathan Banks, James Calhoun, and James Sims Now?
In October 2016, Jonathan Banks, James Calhoun, and James Sims were found guilty of murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and firearm possession. Banks was also found guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The authorities had not charged a fourth man suspected to be with the group when Pamela’s house was broken into. A couple of months later, Sims and Calhoun were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Records indicate that Sims remains incarcerated at Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls, Georgia. As for Calhoun, he is serving his sentence at Ware State Prison in Waycross, Georgia. On the other hand, Banks was handed down a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He is imprisoned at Hancock State Prison in Sparta, Georgia.
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