Murder At Murphy's Express: Joliet Man, 71, Reveals His Trial Defense

JOLIET — The overwhelming majority of Joliet murder cases result in charges of first-degree murder against the defendant, but that was not the case in the August 2022 death of 59-year-old Rickey Moffett. The Joliet man was fatally stabbed at the Murphy's Express gas station at 2504 West Jefferson Street.

Two months later, Joliet police detective Cris Gombosi filed a criminal complaint at the Will County Courthouse charging John Harold Williamson, a Joliet senior citizen from the 1200 block of Wisconsin Street, with the crime of involuntary manslaughter.

Williamson is one of the oldest criminal defendants awaiting trial at the Will County Courthouse for a Joliet homicide. He turned 71 years old in December.

The criminal complaint noted that Williamson "unintentionally killed an individual, Rickey Moffett, without lawful justification ... in that he cut Rickey Moffett with a penetrating object, thereby causing the death of Rickey Moffett."

Williamson only spent one day in the Will County Jail in connection with the homicide from 2022. He posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bail to regain his freedom on Oct. 19, 2022.

For more than two years, Williamson has remained a free man in Joliet as he has worked with his private counsel, Joliet criminal defense attorney Chuck Bretz, as they prepare for a trial.

In January, court files show, Bretz notified Will County's judges that his client intends to assert the following defenses at his trial: presumption of innocence, self-defense and third, defense of others.

On Friday, Bretz and Williamson will return to the fifth floor of the Will County Courthouse as the judge in Courtroom 503 is supposed to set a trial date for Williamson's involuntary manslaughter charge.

Three years ago, Joliet Patch reported that around 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2022, Joliet police responded to the Murphy's Express gas station at 2504 West Jefferson St. after learning of a stabbing victim on the property.

Moffett entered the gas station and indicated to an employee he was injured. Joliet police say he was stabbed in the chest. He was in critical condition for five days before he died.

Following Moffett's death, Joliet police announced that the crime was being investigated as a homicide.