A Westchester County jury found Robert Wooten guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Meisha Williams.

Friday is the jury's finding, and the sentence is not on the calendar. Daily Voice reported the panel rejected his self-defense claim and convicted him of second-degree murder and three weapons counts. The Journal News reported he will ask Judge George Fufidio for leniency under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, arguing Williams abused him. That hearing is his claim. Fufidio has not set a sentence date because he expects the hearing, likely not until the new year.

Daily Voice reported that Atlanta resident Robert Wooten, 30, was found guilty by a Westchester County jury on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in the August 2024 killing of Meisha Williams, 30, inside her New Rochelle apartment, according to Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace. Daily Voice reported the convictions are second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He faces up to 25 years to life, is held at the Westchester County Jail, and no sentencing date has been set, Daily Voice reported. The guilty verdicts are the jury's finding. The maximum the station reported is the exposure. It is not a term a judge has imposed.

Prosecutors said the shooting happened Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, around 10 a.m., in the bathroom of Williams' apartment at 55 Clinton Place, Daily Voice reported. During a verbal confrontation he fired a loaded gun at her five times, striking her twice in the back, the station reported. Williams' friends later found her on the bathroom floor and called New Rochelle police, Daily Voice reported. That is what prosecutors said, as Daily Voice reported it. The jury's guilty verdict on second-degree murder is the finding on that count.

Daily Voice reported investigators tracked his vehicle to Jamaica, Queens, where he was arrested hours later. The Journal News reported investigators used license plate readers to track his Cadillac Escalade, that he left immediately after the shooting, and that he was arrested that night in Queens. Hours later, and an arrest in Jamaica, are Daily Voice. The Escalade, the plate readers, leaving immediately, and an arrest that night in Queens are The Journal News. Both accounts put the arrest in Queens.

At trial Wooten claimed self-defense and testified he disposed of the gun in a sewer, Daily Voice reported. The weapon was never found. The jury rejected the self-defense claim, Daily Voice reported. The Journal News reported he will seek leniency under New York's Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, arguing he was a victim of abuse by Williams and that the abuse was a significant factor. The Journal News reported Westchester Judge George Fufidio did not schedule sentencing because he anticipates a hearing on that claim, likely not until the new year. Wooten must convince the judge that prior violence he faced from Williams was a significant contributing factor, The Journal News reported. The self-defense claim is what the jury rejected. The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act argument is his claim for a hearing that has not been held. The Journal News did not report a finding that Williams abused him. He can still ask a higher court to review the verdict. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.