A Kroger employee who allegedly stabbed his supervisor repeatedly faces new charges after investigators said he kept her trapped in a back room for at least a half-hour during the attack.
Akin Williams, 21, of Snellville, was taken into custody in connection with the stabbing, which happened at the Kroger on Grayson Highway in Grayson on Sunday morning, Gwinnett County police said. He was initially charged with aggravated assault. However, police on Monday charged Williams with kidnapping and false imprisonment in connection with the “brutal attack.”
When officers arrived at the store, they found the victim, 59-year-old Maria Mosher, covered in blood on the floor of the break room.
A police incident report describes a chaotic scene, with broken furniture scattered around the employee break room and blood splattered throughout.
An employee was holding towels to the wounds on Mosher’s neck, according the report. An officer also noticed lacerations on Mosher’s face and hands and puncture wounds to her lower abdominal area and legs, the report said.
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The officer asked Mosher what happened, and she identified Williams as her attacker, the report said.
An employee told police Williams was not scheduled to work on the day of the attack.
Police said surveillance footage of the attack shows Williams standing at the self-checkout around 5 a.m. About the same time, Mosher is seen arriving and going into the break room, the report said.
As Mosher put her belongings away, Williams kicked the door stop and allowed the door to close behind him. He then quickly approached Mosher from behind and “began brutally attacking her,” according to the police report.
The report said Williams knocked Mosher to the ground and punched her repeatedly. Mosher tried to fight back for several minutes.
Williams then pulled an item from his pocket, the report said.
He continued to attack Mosher, and she began to bleed on the floor, the report said.
Several minutes later, as Mosher was still on the floor, Williams gathered cleaning supplies and began to wipe up the blood, the report said. At some point, Mosher tried to leave the room, and Williams stopped her at the door and slammed her to the ground.
“Maria (Mosher) appeared to lose consciousness at this point,” the report said. “Akin (Williams) dragged her motionless body away from the door and continued trying to clean the blood from the scene and rearrange the furniture.”
When Mosher regained consciousness, Williams kicked her in the head and caused her to pass out again, the report said.
Williams continued to clean the room. Mosher tried to leave several more times, and was attacked by Williams each time, according to the report.
Investigators said the surveillance video shows Williams trying to dispose of a large garbage bag full of bloody towels and trying to leave the store. All of the doors were locked. Police later found the bloody towels in a trash bag near the rear door of the break room, the report said.
Around 6 a.m. — nearly an hour after the attack began — another employee went into the break room and saw Mosher on the ground as Williams cleaned up her blood.
“She asked Akin what happened and he told her that he had it all under control and he had already called 911,” the incident report said.
The employee went to look for an ambulance and did not find one. When she went back to the break room, Williams was gone.
Other store employees who heard about the attack saw Williams in the store afterward and followed him. When police arrived, the employees directed officers to his location.
Mosher was taken to Gwinnett Northside Hospital, where she remained Monday, according to police.
A motive is not clear at this time.
Williams was taken to the Gwinnett County jail, where he is being held without bail.
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