Utah man, 48, pleads guilty to killing his estranged restaurateur husband, 72, by setting their home on fire and leaving victim trapped in upstairs bedroom while he watered plants

  • Craig Crawford agreed to plead guilty in John Williams' house-fire death after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty 
  • Police in Salt Lake City said Crawford set fire to couple's home in May 2016, leaving Williams, 72, trapped in fourth-floor bedroom
  • Arson took place after Williams, a Utah LGBTQ pioneer, filed for divorce and unsuccessfully sought a restraining order against Crawford 
  • While the house was burning and Williams was screaming for help, Crawford went to invite a neighbor to watch the blaze with him   

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: | Updated:

A Utah man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and arson charges in the death of his estranged husband, a prominent Salt Lake City restaurateur and LGBTQ pioneer.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for the pleas from Craig Crawford, 48, in connection to last year’s house-fire death of 72-year-old John Williams.

Crawford is expected to be sentenced to life in prison and a judge will decide later whether he will have the possibility of parole.

Craig Crawford, 48
John Williams, 72

Craig Crawford, 48 (pictured in court last year, left), has pleaded guilty to murder and arson charges in the death of his estranged husband, John Williams, 72 (right)

Crawford was charged with setting the couple's house in Salt Lake City ablaze in May 2016 while Williams was in a fourth-floor bedroom 

Crawford was charged with setting the couple's house in Salt Lake City ablaze in May 2016 while Williams was in a fourth-floor bedroom 

Inferno: The fire was started in a second-floor foyer. Williams was heard screaming for help but cold not escape 

Inferno: The fire was started in a second-floor foyer. Williams was heard screaming for help but cold not escape 

Crawford was charged with setting the couple's house ablaze in the early morning hours of May, 22, 2016, shortly after his husband filed for divorce and unsuccessfully sought a restraining order against him. The couple had been together for about 20 years.

According to reporting by Deseret News, police said after starting the fire in a second-floor foyer in their home in the 500 block of North East Capitol Street while Williams was in a fourth-floor bedroom accessible by a single staircase, Crawford went outside and watered the plants while his husband screamed for help.

He then reportedly went over to a neighbor's house at around 1.20am and invited her to come watch his house burn to the ground.   

Firefighters who were summoned to the scene found Williams dead on the bedroom floor. An autopsy determined he died of smoke inhalation. 

Charging documents obtained by Salt Lake Tribune revealed that Crawford had said on multiple occasions that 'he would be rich' if Williams died, and that the suspected arsonist had expressed a desire to set their home aflame. 

Williams was the president of a restaurant group that operated the popular Market Street Grill, Market Street Oyster Bar and New Yorker Restaurant. The couple tied the knot in Canada in 2009. 

Crawford has gotten treatment for unspecified mental health issues since his arrest, defense attorney Jim Bradshaw told Judge Vernice Trease.

He said Crawford wants to accept what he did and give closure to his husband's family.

Crawford, pictured in court last September, went outside and watered the plants while his husband was suffocating on smoke upstairs 

Crawford, pictured in court last September, went outside and watered the plants while his husband was suffocating on smoke upstairs 

Williams, a prominent Salt Lake City restaurateur and LGBTQ pioneer, died shortly after filing for divorce and unsuccessfully seeking a restraining order

Williams, a prominent Salt Lake City restaurateur and LGBTQ pioneer, died shortly after filing for divorce and unsuccessfully seeking a restraining order

‘He has extreme remorse for the horrible act that he committed,’ Bradshaw told the court.

Crawford appeared shackled in a tan jail jumpsuit with close-cropped hair and black-framed glasses. He politely answered the judge's questions about his pleas, but said little else.

Family and friends of Williams filled the courtroom, including a tearful Patty Lignell, who was his housekeeper for 20 years and said she was relieved at the guilty pleas to aggravated murder and aggravated arson.

‘I was there the night before. I took John to the symphony,’ she said through sobs. ‘I told him not to go home, but he did anyway. That's when it all happened.’

Williams' niece Amy Zaharis said the hearing brings her grief back to the surface, but the plea will help bring closure.

Williams was the president of a restaurant group that operated the popular Market Street Grill, Market Street Oyster Bar (pictured) and New Yorker Restaurant

Williams was the president of a restaurant group that operated the popular Market Street Grill, Market Street Oyster Bar (pictured) and New Yorker Restaurant

 

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