Man sentenced to 54 years for 2022 Georgetown, Seattle double murder

Georgetown double murderer sentenced to 54 years in prison

The man convicted of a gruesome 2022 double murder in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood will spend the rest of his life behind bars, after stabbing two people more than 160 times.

SEATTLE - A man will spend 54 years in prison for a gruesome 2022 double murder inside an apartment in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood, occurring just two days after he was released from jail.

John Marcel Williams, 45, will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted on two counts of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

John Marcel Williams appears in court for his sentencing on May 26, 2026. (FOX 13 Seattle)

The backstory:

Williams was found guilty in the October 30, 2022 stabbing of two people inside the Martin Court apartment building, where 53-year-old Howard Hicks and 55-year-old Maryanne Wooden were stabbed 60 times and 100 times apiece.

Following the attacks, police received a 911 call about a man walking nearby with severe cuts on his hands and covered in blood. That man was identified as Williams, and police promptly arrested him.

Surveillance footage captured Williams entering and leaving Wooden's apartment with blood on his hands, according to police. He also reportedly left court documents with his name on them at the crime scene.

The scene of a fatal double stabbing in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood on October 30, 2022. (FOX 13 Seattle)

What they're saying:

During the sentencing hearing, one of Maryanne's daughters spoke in court.

"We may never know what happened in that apartment that led to the death of my mother and her friend, or why they had to lose their lives so violently and with such hatred and disregard," she said. "We do not believe a person capable of comitting such a horrendous way could ever reenter society. We believe to let this man back out — even after rehab — would be to the detriment of the general public."

A cycle of release and violence

Dig deeper:

In the months leading up to the murders, Williams was arrested in Seattle four separate times. In July 2022, he was jailed for attempted rape and felony harassment at a local tiny home village. However, because formal charging documents were not processed within a 72-hour window, Williams walked free.

In September 2022, he was arrested again after punching multiple people at a restaurant and threatening to kill someone. That case was reduced to misdemeanor charges, resulting in a 56-day jail sentence. Williams was released from custody following that sentence, only to commit the double murder in Georgetown less than 48 hours later.

Williams had also amassed at least 65 arrests in California, including felony convictions for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

What's next:

Williams' defense team asked the judge to run the sentences at the same time, but Judge Melinda J. Young ultimately ordered they be run back to back, amounting to 54 years in prison.

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