The father of an infant who has been missing for nearly 41 years will face a murder charge in her presumed death in Washtenaw County.
Isiah Williams, 76, of Chicago, was bound over to stand trial on one count of open murder in connection to the 1982 disappearance and presumed death of his 8-month-old infant daughter Olisa Williams.
Prosecutors said Williams got into an argument with the child’s mother, Denise Frazier-Daniel, on April 29, 1982, in Ohio. He struck Frazier-Daniel and fled with Olisa, bringing the baby to Michigan.
Williams was known to have a long history of domestic violence, according to authorities. Williams told a judge the last time he saw Olisa was in June of that year. He said he had been smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol while driving around with the girl, according to the Doe Network.
Williams said he parked his car at Island Park and fell asleep. When he woke up, he found the car door open, and Olisa was gone, he said. According to Williams, he didn’t report the abduction to police because he thought his wife or one of her relatives had taken Olisa.
Olisa was never found and is presumed to be dead.
Ann Arbor police requested the Department of the Attorney General review the case in early 2021. The open-murder charge was brought against Williams in October of 2021 and a lengthy extradition process followed.
Williams is scheduled for a pretrial conference at 1:30 p.m. on May 17 in Washtenaw Circuit Court.
Read: Michigan cold case coverage