By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 9/20/2026
Category: NYPD / Domestic Violence / Criminal Courts / Government Accountability
NEW YORK CITY, NY – A man accused of killing 27-year-old Lovay Williams went to an NYPD precinct before his arrest, but officers did not detain him or identify him as a murder suspect during that first visit, according to accounts reviewed by the department.
Williams was found dead inside her Washington Heights apartment on September 6 with injuries to her face and neck. Police said her seven-year-old daughter was inside the home. Tiliek Shamel Thompson, 41, has since been charged with murder and related offenses. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The New York Post reported that Thompson and two relatives entered the 33rd Precinct around 5 a.m. on September 11. His attorney said the relatives told an officer police were looking for Thompson. An NYPD spokesperson who reviewed precinct audio and video disputed that specific account, saying the group did not clearly tell the desk officer that Thompson was wanted.
The department nevertheless acknowledged that the encounter was mishandled. Thompson left the precinct and returned the following day, when he was taken into custody.
That gap demands a clear explanation. A person entering a stationhouse in connection with a recent homicide should trigger basic identity checks, supervisor review and communication with the detectives assigned to the case. The public needs to know which of those steps occurred and which did not.
The failure matters most because Williams was already dead and her young daughter had witnessed the violence, according to relatives. Her family was waiting for answers while a man police would soon charge with murder walked back out of a precinct.
The competing accounts also show why the department should preserve and release an accurate chronology. That record should include the time of arrival, what the visitors said, whether identification was requested, which databases were checked, whether detectives were contacted and who authorized the group to leave.
The NYPD has not publicly identified the desk officer. The Post reported that discipline is expected, but no final disciplinary finding has been announced. A mistake by one officer should not be used to prejudge the entire precinct. It should be examined to determine whether training, staffing, handoff procedures or supervision failed.
Williams’ death is being investigated as a domestic-violence killing. Advocates who joined her family at a vigil warned that intimate-partner violence often escalates behind closed doors before becoming fatal. Her daughter and relatives now carry the consequences.
Accountability requires more than arresting a suspect after a second visit. The NYPD should explain how a man later charged with murder entered a police station and left, then show what safeguard will stop the same breakdown from happening again.
Sources
New York Post: NYPD Precinct Mishandled Murder Suspect’s First Surrender Attempt
ABC7 New York: Man Charged in Lovay Williams Killing
NBC New York: Suspect Arrested in Washington Heights Killing
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