Sherine Williams, a Sterling woman, was laid to rest Saturday, just days before she would have turned 25 on Feb. 1.
Law enforcement authorities apprehended a suspect in her murder the night before. Daunteril Maurice Hall, 28, of Sterling, was arrested in Canton, Ohio, on outstanding warrants involving injuries of another woman last year. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office will wait until his return to Virginia before deciding on charges relating to Williams’ homicide.
MORE THAN 100 friends and relatives crowded into the Sterling Park Christian Church as a closed casket adorned with flowers and a framed picture of her occupied the front of the chapel. A photo video continued to run throughout the service, providing glimpses of Williams during the different stages of her short life. Mourners filled the pews and extra chairs placed on both sides of the middle isle and stood along the wall and down the hallway to the back door. Williams, a 1999 Loudoun Valley High School graduate and native of Trinidad and Tobago, was remembered as a fun-loving young woman.
Her cousin Wesley Frances wiped away tears as he described her laugh as contagious and “sometimes obnoxious.” The latter depiction drew chuckles, providing a welcome respite from the sobs that saturated the room. He recalled the 12-long hours they spent looking for the perfect prom dress before choosing a cream-colored gown with embroidered flowers.
The Rev. Michael Gilcreast, pastor of the New Life Praise & Deliverance Church, said Williams was a happy woman who was “always on the go.” That description also elicited knowing laughter.
Her brother, Kerry Williams, simply said, “I’ll always have my sister in my heart. She made everyone happy.”
SHERINE WILLIAMS, who worked three years as a mortgage loan officer at Bank of America, wanted to become a famous model some day. Dolly Viega-Chavez, whose husband, Mike, works with Kerry Williams, described her as quiet-spoken around people she did not know well, and happy-go-lucky and outgoing with friends and family.
The Rev. Ronald Winters of the Resurrection Baptist Church in Reston reminded mourners of Jesus’ words, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” (John 14:1). He said Williams was a Christian and had gone onto a better place. But Winters said he recognized the mourners were troubled, and haunted by the question, “Why Lord? Why?”
HER BODY WAS found Sunday, Jan. 23, in her two-bedroom apartment. Authorities would not disclose the cause of her death. They nabbed Hall at 6:30 p.m. Friday on outstanding warrants stemming from a separate incident May 23. He was taken into custody 18 hours before Williams’ interment at Sterling Cemetery.
Williams is survived by her parents, Gemma and Robert Williams, her brother, Kerry, and sisters, Shalene and Sherline. She was the oldest of the four children.