Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Killing Girlfriend and Her Ex-Partner

A man convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend and the father of two of her children following an argument in Hollywood was sentenced Monday to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig Richman imposed the term on Marvin Francell Williams, who was found guilty July 16 of first-degree murder for the June 16, 2022, killings of Nadia Campbell, 35, of Hollywood, and Ajani Partridge, 40, of Los Angeles, on Carlos Avenue near Gower Street.

Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.

Williams, now 36, acted as his own attorney during his trial and argued that he acted in self-defense.

Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott countered that surveillance video showed the crime was not in self-defense.

The prosecutor told jurors the victims “did not stand a chance” in what he called an “overkill” after an argument about a sweater and a phone.

The defendant told the panel that he had no intent to kill anyone.

Williams testified that he felt like he was in “imminent danger” and wound up fleeing from the scene after the shooting because he had recently gotten out of jail and running “seemed like the only option.”

The defendant said he should have stayed and given his own version of what happened to police given what he knows now.

Williams’ closing argument was eventually cut off by the judge, who had repeatedly cautioned him against making arguments that did not involve evidence heard by the jury. The judge subsequently noted outside the jury’s presence that the defendant’s right to represent himself had been revoked.

In his rebuttal argument, the prosecutor told jurors, “He (the defendant) wanted you to hear things without regard of whether they’re true or not … He wanted to cheat the system.”

Williams — who had prior convictions for assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and residential burglary — was arrested in the San Bernardino County community of Hesperia just under a week after the killings. He has remained behind bars since then.