Blackfoot woman receives lengthy prison sentence for stabbing murder

BLACKFOOT – A packed courtroom watched as a 36-year-old woman found out she will spend decades behind bars after stabbing 37-year-old Jace Williams to death last November.

District Judge Darren Simpson sentenced Melissa Perkes to a minimum of 24 years and a maximum life sentence on Monday.

RELATED | Woman pleads guilty to murdering man who was stabbed to death

Perkes was charged with felony second-degree murder, to which she initially pleaded not guilty. In March, Perkes signed a plea agreement in which she would plead guilty if the prosecution agreed to recommend a minimum of 18 years fixed time in prison but would be free to argue the indeterminate time.

Sentencing

According to the plea agreement, her attorneys would recommend nothing less than five years fixed. Still, during sentencing, Perkes’ attorney, Manuel Murdoch, recommended a minimum of 10 years in prison and an indeterminate maximum sentence, saying that he and his client realize it was a severe crime.

“My client agrees that (five years fixed) would not be sufficient in this case,” said Murdoch. “I believe that a sentence of 10 years fixed with a significant indeterminate portion does protect society.”

During recommendations, Murdoch went over Perkes’ personal history, explaining that although she has been in numerous abusive relationships throughout her life, both romantically and by relatives as a child, she has no previous criminal record.

“Throughout 36 years of her life, society has not had the need to be protected from her. I understand the crime that she committed here is huge, one of the worst you can do.” said Murdoch. “And I believe that it was a one-time thing. I believe that going to prison is going to protect society. I believe when she comes out of prison, she’ll never do this again.”

The state re-emphasized the plea agreement, stating this case is “unique” to many other murder cases because there is footage of Williams dying in the hallway of the apartment building.

“Normally, we get a case, and a file comes up, and we look at pictures, and we read interviews and all the documentation. This was the first time in my experience where there’s a video of the victim passing away in a hallway while he’s banging on doors and asking for help,” said prosecuting attorney Paul Rogers. “While Jace is sitting at the end of the hallway on the video, you see Melissa Perkes exit the door and go out the back way, while he is screaming.”

Rogers described the mental toll this case has taken on him and compared it to its overwhelming effect on Williams’ family and friends.

“I don’t pretend that it has any overwhelming effect on me like what the family is going through,” said Rogers. “But for someone to come to work and witness the death of an innocent person is pretty dramatic, and it’s been on my mind quite a bit since I’ve had to watch it.”

Both of Williams’ parents also spoke on Monday, relaying the horrors they’ve been through since their son’s murder.

Lloyd Williams, Jace’s father, spoke to the court, explaining that he has lost his son, who sat “on his right at all times.”

“The people behind me asked me to speak, and I’m honored to do so on their behalf. They are my family. They miss Jace too. It’s a big hole in our world; my fishing partner, and a good all-around guy to help when you needed help,” said Lloyd. “On my bedside there is a book — 1,387 pages. There are 10 rules in it. ‘Thou shall not kill’ is … the most important one.”

William’s mother, Susan Williams, spoke next, looking at Simpson but talking indirectly to Perkes, saying that while she does not hate her, she will never forgive her.

“Ms. Perkes, I know I’m not supposed to address you directly. You’ve betrayed this trust. You’ve betrayed all trust. You’ve betrayed our love that we gave to you,” said Susan. “You took everything away. You destroyed my life. My work, my job, and how I interact with people. I will never forgive you for what you’ve done, ever.”

Perkes then addressed the court, shakily and through tears, speaking to those who have suffered because of her actions and apologizing for murdering Williams.

“There is not, and never will be, a morning where I wake up or a night where I go to sleep, without an overwhelming feeling of regret and sadness for the loss and pain that my actions have caused so many people,” said Perkes. “That is nothing less than what I deserve, and I pray that one day there will be some closure for anyone who loved Jace, including myself.”

New details about the night of the murder

Simpson then discussed Perkes’ recollection of the night of the murder, Nov.7, as told by Perkes to officials during a pre-sentence investigation.

According to Simpson, Perkes explained that she and Williams had been out drinking when Williams started to “pick a fight” with her as they walked home.

When they entered the apartment, Perkes decided to take a shower. When she finished, she walked into the bedroom and saw a knife on the bed on top of a pillow.

According to Perkes, Williams told her she should use it to harm herself. Perkes, who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder since the murder, says she doesn’t remember what happened next.

Police say this was when Perkes stabbed Williams multiple times.

The pre-sentence investigation determined that Perkes most likely doesn’t remember the stabbing because of her diagnosis, and that Perkes may have experienced “dissociative amnesia” during the stabbing.

Perkes told officials the next thing she remembers is hearing the front door close and Williams leave the apartment.

At that point, Perkes began to experience suicidal ideations (a term for someone experiencing suicidal thoughts, and trying to put those ideas into action) and left the apartment, driving “into the mountains” and eventually to her mother’s house, where she learned that Williams had died.

According to Perkes, even to this day she does not remember the act of stabbing Williams.

Simpson also noted Perkes’ psychological history, mentioning that because of her diagnosis, she is likely to have “chaotic relationships.”

“If I take that as true, that you experienced dissociative amnesia, then you weren’t aware of your act at that particular time, but you still made the decision to pick up that knife and stab him,” said Simpson. “In addition, after that happened, and you walked out the door, which is a significant factor to me is that even though you might still have been in that state, you chose to leave rather than render aid.”

Simpson gave a lengthy explanation for his sentencing decision, eventually telling Perkes that her fate will be a minimum of almost a quarter of a century in prison.

Background of the case

Blackfoot police were called to an apartment building on the 100 block of North Broadway Street around 11:45 p.m. on Nov. 7.

The caller said someone might be injured, and when police arrived, they found a man with stab wounds at the top of a staircase in the apartment building.

The news release confirmed that Perkes and William were living together and detailed the night events that led to Williams’ body being found.

“On surveillance video from the apartment complex, Jace Williams can be seen exiting the apartment at approximately 11:43 p.m. bleeding from the back and holding a large kitchen knife. Jace Williams was knocking on apartment doors of his neighbors yelling for help and stating that he had been stabbed,” the news release says. “Jace Williams walked approximately 30 feet to the edge of the stairway, dropped the knife over the stairwell, and sat down, still yelling for help and kicking the nearest apartment door.”

Security footage shows that as Williams sat yelling, Perkes walked out of the apartment barefoot, shrugged her shoulders, and left through the back exit.

Photos shown in court during Perkes’ preliminary hearing depicted blood stains on the walls of the bedroom inside the apartment, as well as the transfer of bloodstains on bed sheets, recliners in the living room, and “lots of blood” in the hallway of the apartment, according to investigators.