Upper Lake man convicted of killing mother of his children in MMIW case
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A jury on Wednesday convicted an Upper Lake man of the June 2017 beating death of his longtime girlfriend, a tribal member whose death illustrated on the local level the violence Indigenous women face.
The verdict in the murder trial of Willy Tujays Timmons was read out in Judge J. David Markham’s courtroom on Wednesday afternoon.
Timmons, 41, was convicted of the murder and torture of 35-year-old Vanessa Yvette Niko on June 30, 2017.
He also was found guilty of inflicting injury resulting in a traumatic condition and aggravated mayhem, with several special allegations — including use of a deadly weapon and personally inflicting bodily injury — also found to be true.
The jury deadlocked on prior allegations, specifically, two misdemeanor prior domestic violations orders that Timmons was on probation for at the time of the crime.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson said the prior allegations didn’t constitute a really contentious issue — and hadn’t actually been argued at trial — so she wasn’t sure why the jury hung on them. Following the reading of the verdict, she moved to dismiss them.
Niko, a member of the Habematolel tribe who also was of Samoan descent, has become the local face of the effort to bring more awareness to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, also known as MMIW, which in many cases has a root in domestic violence.
Niko’s cousin, Ida Morrison, who attended every day of the trial, told Lake County News in a Wednesday night interview that she was relieved with the outcome.
“I am happy with the verdict,” she said.
She saw three of Niko’s children on Wednesday, and said they were also relieved that Timmons will serve time for killing their mother.
With Timmons’ defense attorney considering filing a motion for a new trial, Judge Markham scheduled a hearing at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, in his Department 2 courtroom, at which time the sentencing date will be determined.
It was not immediately clear how much prison time Timmons could be facing. However, it is expected to be substantial.
In addition to the murder conviction, Timmons’ conviction on the torture charge itself could result in a life sentence with the possibility of parole under state law.
The story of a murdered Indigenous woman
Niko was a mother of six; Timmons was the father of three of her children. The youngest of her children was 11 months old when she died.
In a previous interview with Lake County News, Morrison recounted how Timmons and Niko had a difficult relationship and often had to stay away from each other for periods of time.
On the day he killed Niko, Timmons came to pick her up, taking her to a home on Bridge Arbor Road in Upper Lake where, hours later, a deputy would respond to find Timmons assaulting Niko. Authorities said he struck her in the head with a rock and fatally injured her. She died at the scene shortly after the deputy arrived.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” Morrison said of what her cousin endured. “She didn’t deserve that.”
In May, a mural of Niko, with a theme calling attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women, was dedicated in downtown Upper Lake.
Niko’s life was celebrated and friends and family sought to bring attention not just to her case but those of untold others across the nation.
Morrison — who in the years since Niko’s death has fought to keep her memory alive and keep focus on the case — was credited for her work to help bring about that mural project.
She said she believes the mural has brought a lot of awareness to the community about the violence — including from domestic partners — that Indigenous women face.
Morrison said she still gets emails and messages about the mural. “It continues to keep me humble.”
She said her journey with MMIW awareness isn’t complete, and she plans to continue to stay involved in honor of her cousin.
Morrison said she has wanted to not just raise awareness of MMIW but also of the larger issue of domestic violence and its impacts on victims, female and male alike.
She encourages people in the midst of it to reach out, for others to support them by breaking the silence around it and for an emphasis to be placed on prevention.
“We need to start speaking against violence and continue to stay vigilant with that,” Morrison said.
Bearing witness
In the four years since Niko’s murder, the case had moved slowly through the courts, with numerous trial dates set and then vacated. Complicating the case in its early days was that Timmons at one point had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in the case.
More recently, COVID-19 and its impacts on the courts would see this and many other cases delayed also.
Then the trial was set again for August, only to be rescheduled once again.
Morrison and other friends and family members continued to try to raise the case’s visibility. On Sept. 21, they stood outside of the Courthouse Museum in downtown Lakeport, holding signs that read “Justice for Vanessa Niko” and “You are not forgotten,” as well as stylized outlines symbolizing Indigenous women.
That same day, across the street at the courthouse, a case management conference to finalize the details of the new trial date, set for Oct. 20, took place.
That date held, and the delays came to an end when the trial started.
Evidence in the trial began on Oct. 27. Held at the Lake County Fairgrounds to ensure the ability for social distancing due to COVID-19 concerns, the trial ran Wednesdays through Fridays.
Morrison was there for every day of the trial, along with several family members — an aunt, cousins from Lake County as well as from Chico — and a family friend. ‘We minded our p’s and q’s,” she said, not wanting anything to be held against them in the proceedings.
During the trial, Timmons took the stand, giving what Morrison said was detailed testimony.
But asked about the important statements he and others made at the trial, she said, “I don’t care to remember any of it, honestly,” nor did she care to speculate about what he was thinking or why he killed Niko.
The trial had been expected to go as late as the middle of December, but everything moved more quickly than expected, Morrison said. “I’m grateful that the trial was as speedy as it was.”
The jury began deliberations on Friday. Those deliberations continued through this week, finally ending on Wednesday. Markham convened court to hear the verdict read just after 3:30 p.m.
For the family, the verdict is a relief, and Morrison said they are still looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel, once Timmons is sentenced. And then there is life beyond that.
“We’re just going to continue to be strong,” Morrison said.
She believes her cousin’s tragedy “has turned into her purpose,” which is to bring awareness to situations such as hers.
At the same time, Morrison expects the verdict will give hope to people who have had to endure domestic violence.
For those in a relationship marked by domestic violence, “Please get help. Reach out,” said Morrison. “As hard as it may seem, keep holding on. There is hope. There is light.”
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