A Florida man on the run for three years after killing his ex-girlfriend while she was holding their infant son was captured in Mexico last week and brought back to the United States to stand trial.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said Tuesday that Benjamin “Bambi” Williams, 41, is being held without bond at the Pinellas County Jail after someone recognized him from a TikTok video and called police to say he was living in Mexico.
Detectives contacted the US Marshals Service, who flew Williams to Miami, where he was met by a St. Petersburg detective and a Pinellas County deputy.
He is charged with first degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Joana Peca on July 31, 2021, and two counts of child abuse for the infant and Peca’s 4-year-old son, who was in the backseat of her car when Williams shot his mother.
The children were not physically harmed, but Holloway said at the time they were “terrified,” The Tampa Bay Times reported.
As CrimeOnline reported, police were called about a shooting at about 5:30 p.m. and found Peca dead in her vehicle near Woodlawn Memorial Gardens cemetery.
St Petersburg Police said that Williams talked Peca into meeting him so he could see the baby. When they met, however, he shot her multiple times in the face and fled.
The case featured on “In Pursuit with John Walsh” in 2022 as police searched for Williams, who was named as a suspect about a month after the shooting.
While nothing can restore the life of a beloved daughter and mother to two young children, we hope this offers them some long-overdue peace and closure,” said Holloway.
Elena Peca, the victim’s mother, spoke at a press conference on Tuesday, saying she felt a “combination of happiness and pain” when detectives told her they’d arrested Williams, the Times said.
“I‘m learning how to live with the pain and focus with those little boys and make sure they’re safe — make sure they are well loved,” she said.
As for Williams, she said, his “freedom is over. He is behind bars where he belongs.”
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[Featured image: Joana Peca and Benjamin “Bambi” Williams/St. Petersburg Police Department]
