Hearing Set in Alleged Jury Tampering

A Santa Ana woman suspected of attempting to sway a juror in a death-penalty case was released Wednesday after spending a night in jail, but still faces a contempt charge.

Kichecko Williams, 21, must appear in court Dec. 6 for a hearing to determine what took place Tuesday in a hallway outside the courtroom where the father of her 2-year-old son is on trial for the 1991 rape and murder of a Huntington Beach woman.

A juror told Orange County Superior Court Judge David O. Carter that Williams approached him during a court break and said: “That’s the father of my son that’s on trial. You have the life of my son’s father in your hands.”

Carter ordered Williams into custody on $100,000 bail, but released her Wednesday pending the contempt hearing. The hearing will follow the conclusion of the trial of Shaleke Nasir, 22, a kick-boxer from Orange. Nasir has pleaded not guilty to murder in the August, 1991, slaying of Lena M. Forbes, 21.

Williams denied that she was attempting to tamper with a juror, said defense attorney Chris Jensen, who was appointed to represent her.

Neither attorney in the murder trial has requested the juror’s removal.