MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman has been charged with murder and abuse of a corpse after investigators said a man was lured to a home then shot and killed for $20 in 2019.
Breanna Williams, 20, has been charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. According to Shelby County Jail records, she is now being held without bond.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities issued a warrant for Williams' arrest April 24, 2024, with Marshals in Memphis taking on the case as a fugitive investigation.
On May 1, marshals received a tip about Williams; whereabouts, later finding her at a business in the 7200 block of Appling Farms Parkway in Memphis and arresting her without incident.
What happened
Investigators said that on July 3, 2019, Williams, then 15, invited 20-year-old Baba Said to a house in the 1400 block of Amarillo St. near Kimball and Semmes. According to the Shelby County D.A.'s office at the time, when Said arrived, Jalen Braden confronted him with a gun, robbed him of $20, and shot him in the back of the head.
Prosecutors said Braden and Williams then wrapped the victim’s body in plastic bags, placed it in trunk of his car and disposed of it in a drainage ditch near Park and Getwell. Said’s car was found on the interstate the following day, prompting a missing-person search for Said.
Investigators said a GPS ping from Said’s phone led searchers to the area of the Amarillo residence where several days later investigators saw a sofa on the curb with a large blood stain. They said more blood was found in Braden’s house, and he eventually gave police a statement of is involvement.
Said’s body was discovered by a boater three months later near a marina at Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park.
Another person was also involved in the murder, according to authorities. Albert Johnson was being interviewed in an unrelated case October 21, 2020, when police said he admitted to being in the home when Baba Said was killed.
According to the police affidavit, Braden, who was also indicted in the murder, told investigators Johnson gave him the gun that he then used to kill Said before taking two $10 bills from the victim's pocket.
Police said Johnson admitted to helping Braden put Said into garbage bags, putting the body in the trunk of the victim's vehicle, then dumping Said's body in a drainage ditch. They said Johnson also admitted helping Braden move a bloody couch where Said had been shot to the curb of the home.
Johnson was charged with first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.
Williams, who was 15 at the time, was also indicted in the murder.
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office said the cases against Braden and Williams is continuing. Court records show the case against Johnson is also making its way through the court system.
