"He (Williams) tried to kill me," Rosalind Pichardo testified. "He was abusive. He threw me over a bridge on the railroad tracks."
On Wednesday, Williams, 36, was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder in the June 25, 2009, fatal burning of Maria Serrano in her home in the 800 block of Lincoln Street. Pichardo, 35, of Philadelphia, testified during the penalty phase of Williams' trial.
Assistant District Attorney Dennis J. Skayhan asked the panel to sentence Williams to death because he tortured Serrano and has a long history of violence, including murder.
Prosecution witnesses testified that Williams stabbed Serrano, 49, with a screwdriver, pushed her down the stairs of her basement where he raped her and set her on fire. She died on Aug. 8, 2009.
Williams' lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Paul Yessler, asked the panel to spare Williams' life because he had a troubled childhood growing up in a drug-ridden section of Philadelphia.
"Donald Williams when he was 10 years old tried to commit suicide," he said. "His father and mother would constantly fight."
Yessler said that Williams' parents were crack addicts.
"He was alone," Yessler said.
Pichardo testified Williams was her boyfriend when she was 15 and he was 17 years old.
She said the two broke up after about a year because Williams was mean and abusive.
Pichardo said that she then began dating Travor Jackson. Pichardo said that Williams fatally shot Jackson on Aug. 7, 1994.
Williams was sentenced to 14 to 28 years in state prison after killing Jackson and attempting to kill Pichardo and another unidentified victim.
Skayhan called several family members who testified about their love of Serrano and how their lives have changed since her death.
Luis Serrano, 38, Serrano's son, said his mother was his best friend.
"She was my rock," he said. "She was my entire world. On June 25, 2009, my entire life came to a halt."
Luis said his mother was tortured, beaten, robbed, raped and set on fire.
"No one deserves for this to happen to them," Luis Serrano said.
Luis Serrano said that for the next 45 days his mother was in a coma and he was unable to communicate with her.
"I visited her every day in the hospital," he said.
Luis Serrano wept as he said he was sorry his mother will not be present for the milestones in the lives of his three children.
Sara Soto, the victim's sister, said the family moved from Puerto Rico to Reading.
"I miss Maria thoroughly," she said. "Time is not going to heal it."
Soto said she feels guilty because she was not there to protect her sister.
"She was not only my sister but she was my best friend," Soto testified. "She was the person I looked up to. She was there for my darkest moments and my brightest."
Soto said her sister loved to shop and had a closet that looked like a department store.
"She loved to dance," she said.
Soto said her world changed when her sister was burned to death. Soto said family holidays are now spent at the cemetery.
"I try to find joy in my life because Maria was part of it," she said. "But it is so hard. Imagine her going through more pain than a human being can bear.
"How is it possible for someone to be so evil?"
Soto said that Maria was about to receive her college degree and was looking forward to her 50th birthday party.
Jessica Serrano, 32, the victim's daughter, said that her mother taught her about caring for others.
"She participated in our sports," she said. "She organized block parties. She participated with United Way and the Special Olympics."
Jessica Serrano said her mother was an interpreter and worked as a notary.
Jessica Serrano, who resides in Florida, said she no longer feels like Reading is her home because her mother was killed.
"I can no longer hear her voice in the morning," Jessica said. "I need her advice so I can be as good of a mother as my mother."
The penalty phase is expected to continue today in the trial before Judge Scott D. Keller.
Contact Holly Herman: 610-478-6291 or hherman@readingeagle.com.
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