Man Pleads Guilty in Harbor Town Slaying

July 20, 2022 – A 25-year-old man pled guilty today in the 2017 shooting death of a woman in the kitchen of her residence in Harbor Town on Mud Island, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Kurtrell Williams pled guilty in Criminal Court to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison without the possibility for parole.

Susan Grissom, 56, was shot and killed by an intruder last Nov. 7, 2017, in the kitchen of her home on Island Drive. She was robbed of cash and a bank card which later was found discarded in the 4300 block of Mendenhall.

An attempt to use the bank card at a gas station enabled investigators to obtain a still shot which was released to the public. Williams was developed as a suspect and was arrested three days later at a residence in the 3800 block of Brighton in northeast Memphis.

The case was handled by Alanda Dwyer and Karen Cook, chief prosecutors of the DA’s Special Prosecution Unit which seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.