The Michigan woman who was convicted of setting fire to a home that killed two young boys and their grandmother in September 2020 has learned her fate.
On Wednesday, Judge Clinton Canady III sentenced Abbieana Williams to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In April, Williams was convicted of three counts of arson and three counts of first-degree murder after taking less than two hours to deliberate. State law mandates Willams be sentenced to life in prison without parole because she was convicted of first-degree murder.
According to testimony in her trial, Williams threw a brick through the home of 53-year-old Melissa Westen. Williams stopped to ask a neighbor if she could borrow a lighter, then set Westen’s couch and drapes on fire.
The house was fully engulfed within minutes. Westen and her two grandchildren, 8-year-old Aston Griffin and 4-year-old Jesse Kline IV were inside. All three died from smoke inhalation according to Michael Markey, a medical examiner with Sparrow.
“The fire spread so rapidly that Melissa Westen and her grandchildren … were unable to escape the burning building,” Ingham County Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Dewane said during opening statements of Williams’ jury trial in April. “They had absolutely no chance of escape.”
Her attorney, Duane Silverthorn, can appeal the conviction.
Aston and Jesse were “active and inquisitive children who loved superheroes and serial killers,” according to both boys’ obituaries. They enjoyed spending time at Westen’s house watching YouTube, listening to music and playing with their little brother.
Williams thought her boyfriend, Melissa Westen’s son, was cheating on her with a 16-year-old in Detroit. Her jealous rage turned into threats toward Melissa Westen as Williams headed toward Melissa Westen’s Lansing home.
“I’m outside your mom’s house … I hope your mom likes being burned alive,” she texted her boyfriend that September night.
Williams often made violent empty threats. The Westens assumed this time wouldn’t be any different.
At the sentencing hearing Wednesday, Williams said she was sorry three people died, but that she was not the one who killed them.
“Had I been there that night, I would’ve jumped in those flames without a second thought,” Williams said.
Her comment was met with disdain from the Westen family.
“I may have said some stupid things, I should have thought before I spoke,” Williams said before reiterating that she had not committed the crime. “I just hope, that by somebody paying for [the three deaths], [the Westens] can move on with their lives. Even if it’s an innocent person.”
She said she wished no one had stopped her from killing herself that night because then at least her time of death would have proven she did not kill three people.
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