Trials
BREAKING
Hensel Gets Life in ATV Killing
Judge Gisela Laurent on Tuesday sentenced Ralph Hensel, 59, to life in prison without parole for the February 2025 shooting death of Ja'Keem Williams, 32, at a Winter Garden apartment complex. Hensel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A guilty plea to second-degree murder is a conviction, and life without parole is the top of the range. Hensel asked the judge for life, and she imposed it. Williams, a father of three, was killed, and the sentence does not bring him back.
Ralph Hensel, 59, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for the shooting death of Ja'Keem Williams, 32. Judge Gisela Laurent imposed the term in Orange County after Hensel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Williams was shot just before 4 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2025, at the Bay Pointe Apartments in Winter Garden. He was a father of three, and he was on an ATV. A leasing-office manager had just called police about the riding. Hensel surrendered. Officers found a gun near the leasing office.
A grand jury had indicted Hensel for first-degree murder. On Monday, with jury selection about to start, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He faced 25 years to life and asked for 25 years. At the sentencing he told Laurent he planned to die in prison and asked for life. He said jail had been a comfort. Prosecutor Frank George asked her to keep him there for good.
Prosecutors said video showed Hensel get a gun, cross the courtyard, wait, and shoot Williams twice in the back of the head.
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