JASPER – Kristopher Tayshaun Drayton, a 24-year-old Woodville man, charged with the murder of his girlfriend, appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty
Drayton was arraigned in the 1A District Court before Judge Craig Mixson. His bonds were set at a total of $552,000, and he remains in custody at the Jasper County Jail.
Drayton was indicted on a charge of murder in August by a Jasper County grand jury. He was previously charged with manslaughter, from the May death of his 19-year-old girlfriend Keniyah Williams, also of Woodville.
He was also indicted on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, after being accused of pulling a gun on Stephanie Rocquemore and allegedly threatening to kill her in April.
Williams’ death was initially investigated as a homicide, but according to the probable cause affidavit, Drayton had told investigators that the ultimately fatal gunshot occurred while the two were in transit, along Main Street and US 190 in Jasper, with their two-month-old son when an argument arose.
Drayton told officers that he removed his pistol from his waistband and placed it between the driver’s seat and the center console of the vehicle they were in and that the weapon “went off and struck Keniyah,” according to the affidavit. Williams later died in the emergency room of Christus Jasper Memorial Hospital.
Williams’s death sent shockwaves through the Woodville community. The young mother was remembered as a smart, hard-working and kindhearted woman, and a community-wide tribute took place, led by her mother, Ashley Lacey.
Lacey, who spoke to the Booster in July about life after her daughter’s death said that “everybody loved Keniyah.”
“When this happened, it messed a lot of people up, they were in shock; a lot of people cared about [her]. She was active, outgoing, and full of life,” Lacey said.
