Cops say Williams confessed he tracked ex to kill her

YOUNGSTOWN

Prosecutors said Friday that Elizabeth Pledger-Stewart begged for her life after her car was pushed into a Market Street building, but the man accused of killing her told detectives his mind was already made up.

“He said he didn’t have any time for that – it was too late,” city Prosecutor Dana Lantz said of the confession 59-year-old Dale Williams gave to detectives for the shooting of Pledger-Stewart, 46, of Boardman, at about 8 a.m. Thursday on Market Street.

Judge Robert Milich set bond at $5 million for Williams, who was arraigned on a charge of aggravated murder for the death of Pledger-Stewart as she was driving to work.

Lantz told the judge Pledger-Stewart and Williams are both from the Cleveland area and had a relationship that turned sour. On Wednesday less than 12 hours before her death, Pledger-Stewart drove to the Boardman police station and made a report about threats Williams made against her, including one where he threatened “to get her in the streets.”

Lantz said Williams confessed to detectives and said he knew her route to work and was waiting for her Friday. Video shows that Williams waited for 48 minutes nearby before he saw Pledger-Stewart’s car, and he weaved in and out of traffic before ramming it off the road and killing her.

Malinda Gavins, project manager for Sojourner House, helps victims of domestic abuse, said it is important for someone in an abusive relationship to have a plan when they leave a relationship. Plans are important because statistics show that the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is when the person who is abused wants to leave, she explained.

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.