ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man will spend the remainder of his life in prison for a 2021 murder in the Greater Ville neighborhood.
A jury convicted Tyrone Williams of first-degree murder and armed criminal action on Nov. 2. Williams appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court on Wednesday for sentencing.
Prosecutors said Williams, 36, shot and killed Stephen Byes, 37, on Sept. 8, 2021, following an argument. At trial, Williams claimed he killed Byes in self-defense.
Williams and Byes had a child with the same woman. Byes and the woman lived together in her home, across the street from Williams.
The two men got into a fist fight on the day of the murder. According to testimony during the trial, Byes returned home after lunch and found Williams asleep on the couch. Byes said Williams was antagonizing them. Meanwhile, Williams told the mother of his daughter that he would kill Byes.
Neighbors broke up the fight between the two men. Williams left with his daughter in the mother’s car. She called Williams and asked him to return the vehicle. Williams drove back and parked the car in front of Byes’ residence.
The woman got their daughter from the car and was walking back to her home when she heard several gunshots. She turned to see Williams shooting at Byes from her car.
Byes hid behind his own parked car, took out a gun, and returned fire. He then collapsed and died in the street. Byes had been shot six times, suffering fatal injuries to his heart and spleen.
Before sentencing, Byes’ father appeared before the court and said his son had a good work ethic and was active in the lives of his three sons. He said Williams also had a relationship with the children and often played football with them.
“I’m sure Tyrone feels it because his life is forever changed,” he said. “My life has forever been changed. … It’s a void for both families.”
The judge handed down a mandatory sentence of life without parole on the murder charge and a three-year consecutive sentence for armed criminal action.
Williams did not speak in court before or after sentencing.
