Mother of retarded man, 32, shocked by stabbing charge
Man with mind of young child rarely left home alone, says mother
Pauline Williams says she was shocked that her mentally retarded 32-year-old son allegedly stabbed an elderly man at a theater restroom.
"I see a child -- an innocent child," said the 52-year-old single mom. "He's very slow," has the mind of a 6-, 7- or 8-year-old, collects Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards and stutters when he is excited but has always been loving and gentle.
Justin C. Williams was arrested for allegedly stabbing the 82-year-old Waialua man Tuesday at a Mililani 14 Theatres restroom. He was charged with attempted murder and is being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
"My world's turned upside down," said Pauline Williams as she began to cry. "I protected him all my life, and I cannot do nothing now. He's in there with God knows what kind of people now. ... They're going to hurt him. I don't know what to do."
Williams said her son does not even go to the corner store alone, and had never ridden a bus by himself before.
Williams said her son J.C., as he is called, thinks of himself as a boy. "He'll argue with his cousins (3, 7 and 8) that he's their age. He says, 'I'm 7 years old, too.' They say, 'No, you're not. You're 32.'"
"I'm so sorry about that old man," Pauline Williams said. "He didn't deserve this to happen. I'm so sorry about everything."
Witnesses heard the scuffling and screams at about 3:45 p.m. and rushed to the aid of Bueno Rania, a retired plantation worker. They found him bleeding with a cut to his head, and Williams allegedly holding the knife.
Rania, whose wife was waiting outside, was washing his hands and was attacked from behind.
"He had multiple cuts to his head and just missed his throat," requiring 3 1/2 hours of stitching, said his son Rudy, who marveled at his father's quick reflexes and strength to block the slashes. He was released from the hospital the same day.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pauline Williams of Wahiawa said she was shocked by the incident in which her son, Justin Williams, is accused of stabbing an 82-year-old man in a Mililani theater complex.
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"He kept saying, 'I almost died,'" Rania said. "He was distraught. Thank God he has a strong heart. Otherwise, something like that would cause a heart attack."
Rania said his family does not know what kind of person Williams is, but questioned why he was by himself if he needed supervision.
Williams was living with his mother in the same Wahiawa apartment building as his grandmother, uncle and cousin, as well as close family friends.
Tuesday started out as a normal day, with Williams chatting with his mother before she left for work at 10:15 a.m. Other relatives saw him leave at 2 p.m., Pauline Williams said.
Justin Williams told police he wanted to "cut the old man because he wanted to go to jail for life," a police affidavit said.
Pauline Williams said she does not know where that came from, but they often watch the Discovery Channel, which she said often features prisons.
And "he has heard me always ask my mom, 'If something should ever happen to me, can you guys promise me you guys would take care of him?'" she said.
Pauline Williams said her son was born with his disability, but she did not learn that until he was 3 or 4 years old. "He still wasn't talking, just babbling," she said. So she took him to a clinic and discovered he was mentally disabled.
"His dad was always on drugs, so they said that may be it," she said.