Man Gets 25-Year Term in 1996 Slaying

A Simi Valley man who shot and killed an engineer and part-time actor in Panorama City was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years to life in state prison.

Michael Williams was sentenced by Judge Sandy Kriegler in Van Nuys Superior Court for the slaying of Gregory Watson, 41, and will likely serve just over 20 years, authorities said. Watson was at a vacant Panorama City apartment known to be frequented by drug dealers and prostitutes when he was shot once in the chest, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. David Gelfound.

There were no witnesses to the March 1996 crime, and no murder weapon was ever located by police. Nonetheless, the prosecution was able to build a case on circumstantial evidence, including the testimony of two witnesses who said they saw Williams flee the scene shortly after the shooting, Gelfound said.

Blood was also found on a designer shirt that detectives recovered at the residence of a friend of Williams. Investigators interviewed witnesses who then linked the shirt to the defendant.