When a Gwinnett County man was reported missing late last month, investigators steadily followed a trail of clues about his disappearance through three metro Atlanta counties. On Wednesday, that trail came to a tragic end when an acquaintance of the missing man confessed to killing him, officials said.
Ronald Leonard Williams, 54, was reported missing by his family Nov. 28, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said in a news release. Williams’ body was found after investigators interviewed 54-year-old Wesley Richard Brock, of Dallas, who confessed to shooting Williams and later led detectives to the missing man’s remains.
After Williams’ family filed a missing person report, Gwinnett detectives tracked the last known location of Williams’ car and phone to Paulding, Henson said. On Dec. 3, detectives found Williams’ car parked at an apartment complex in Cobb County. Evidence in the car led investigators to believe an assault had taken place, and the search for Williams was widened to include the GBI.
Investigators canvassed the area around the apartments where Williams’ car was found and continued to investigate additional leads, Henson said. The investigation led detectives to take out a search warrant for a home in Dallas that belonged to Brock, who was described to officials as an associate of Williams.
Detectives and GBI agents interviewed Brock “at length,” Henson said, before he confessed to shooting Williams and getting rid of his body near Williams Road in rural northern Paulding. Williams’ remains were recovered and examined by the Paulding coroner.
Brock was arrested and charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was booked into the Paulding County Jail on Wednesday and remains there without bond.
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