Man wanted in slaying now linked to 2 more killings in Hesperia
A fugitive already wanted in connection with the slaying of a woman has now been linked to the killings of two other Hesperia residents, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday, Sept. 11.
The suspect, Phillip Williamson, 37, knew all three slaying victims, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller said in an email. The exact relationship is not being disclosed, she said.
Williamson was still at large Wednesday and should be considered dangerous, a sheriff’s news release said. Investigators say they believe Williamson likely shaved to change his appearance and ask anyone who knows of his whereabouts to call 911.
On Aug. 30, Brandi Jones, 35, was found slain in her car in a dirt field in Apple Valley. That same day, a resident of the 20100 block of Wisconsin Street in Apple Valley reported that someone had forced him to give him money and a gun. Investigators believe Williamson was responsible for both crimes.
Then on Sept. 3, deputies conducting a welfare check at a home in the 9000 block of C Avenue in Hesperia found the bodies of Jason Culberson, 43, and Melissa Graetz, 37, inside. Investigators believe Williamson killed them.
A relative of Culberson, Shari Akers, said in an interview Wednesday that Culberson’s mother requested deputies check on her son after not hearing from him for several days. Graetz was Culberson’s girlfriend, Akers said. She also said that Culberson grew up in Tustin.
On Sept. 9, the Sheriff’s Department said, someone — they believe Williamson — set the Wisconsin Street house ablaze.
Williamson has a violent past, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records.
He has failed to appear in court to answer to a current charge that he violated a criminal protective order. In 2017, Williamson pleaded no contest to felony assault in a case in which charges of assault with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm and making criminal threats were dropped.
He also has convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, being in possession of a controlled substance while armed and driving under the influence, court records show.