Video leads Las Vegas police to stabbing-spree suspect who was on probation

LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — A man accused in a multi-week stabbing spree was on probation at the time and appeared in court in an unrelated case before allegedly killing a man, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.

Cornelius Williams, 34, faces charges of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon, records said.

Police and prosecutors suspect Williams stabbed two people on Jan. 21, 2024, and then two more people on Feb. 3, 2024, records said. One of the stabbings on Feb. 3 left Leary Adams deceased.

The first stabbing happened early in the morning on Jan. 21 outside of an east valley convenience store. Video the 8 News Now Investigators obtained shows a man prosecutors identified as Williams lunging at another man and stabbing him in the neck.

The victim, who survived, nor witnesses reported the stabbing to police.

About 20 minutes later, another surveillance camera captured Williams following a woman, grabbing her from behind and stabbing her in the neck. She also survived.

After the two first stabbings, on Jan. 23, a judge sanctioned Williams in an earlier criminal case, records said. A week later, Williams failed to return to court as part of a mental health court program and a judge ordered his arrest.

On Feb. 3, around 12:45 a.m., Metro police received a 911 call from a woman who said that her boyfriend was stabbed in the neck. When officers arrived at an apartment, they found the victim, identified as Adams, suffering from a stab wound, police said.

Adams’ girlfriend told police that they were inside the apartment when Adams decided he wanted to go to a nearby 7-Eleven for a snack. Sometime later, Adams “burst through the bedroom door holding his neck,” bleeding and saying someone stabbed him, documents said.

Detectives later discovered that around 12:10 a.m., about 36 minutes before Adams’ girlfriend called 911, they received a report that a man had been threatened with a knife in the parking lot of his apartment complex, in the same block as the Adams’ apartment, according to police. The man was not injured.

Williams allegedly stabbed a fourth person about 21 minutes after Adams’ girlfriend called 911, documents said. In that call, a woman reported that her husband had been stabbed in the neck, documents said.

Detectives believe Williams used a large kitchen knife in all four stabbings.

As of Monday, Williams was in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections on the probation violation. He was due to return to court on July 25. In April, a judge found Williams competent to stand trial.

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