Fort Worth woman accused of fatally stabbing half brother

A 27-year-old woman had been acting abnormally Monday and threatening to “cut up” and kill her half brother before walking up to him Monday night and fatally stabbing him in the neck, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Relatives told police that Brandy Michelle Williams has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression and had not taken her medication since her recent release from jail for prostitution.

Williams was arrested Monday night, accused of stabbing James Smallwood, 31, once in the neck with a knife just outside the front door of the family’s residence.

Smallwood was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital and was pronounced dead at 10:01 p.m.

Williams was being held in the Mansfield Jail on a murder warrant Tuesday, with bail set at $150,000.

Williams’ mother, Carol Smith, told police that her daughter was talking to herself Monday and may have been drinking or using drugs when she arrived at the family’s home in the 6200 block of Vel Drive.

She said her daughter later decided to leave but told Smallwood that someone was outside asking for him. Smallwood and his mother looked out but saw no one, the mother told investigators.

A short time later, Williams returned, banging on the door.

Her mother said that she and her son went to the front door but that her daughter never tried to come inside. Instead, Williams told her mother and brother that she was leaving again and turned to go.

“As James and Carol stood outside watching her leave, Brandy came back and walked up to James and stabbed him once on the right side of the neck,” says the affidavit, written by homicide Detective J. Cedillo. “According to Carol, Brandy didn’t say anything prior to or after the stabbing, then she walked away. Carol stated at no point did anyone provoke Brandy.”

Officers began canvassing the area after learning that Williams had walked westbound after the stabbing. Williams was arrested near Ramey Avenue and East Loop 820 after another relative flagged down officers and pointed out her location.

Officers found a knife near where Williams was taken into custody, the affidavit states.

Two neighbors told homicide Detective E. Pate that Williams had behaved oddly when she came to their house that day.

“Brandy told them she was going to ‘cut up’ her brother [James Smallwood] into pieces,” the affidavit states.

One of the neighbors told the detective that he saw what appeared to be a pocketknife in Williams’ pocket.

Smith’s boyfriend, who lives across from the family, said that he had heard Williams banging on her own door hours earlier and that he had told her that her mother and brother were not home.

“Brandy stated she knew James was in the house and she was going to kill him,” the affidavit states.

The boyfriend told investigators that Williams left, then returned.

When interviewed by homicide detectives, Williams said that she was afraid her half brother was going to “assault or scare her.”

“She stated James had a history of jumping out and startling her and at times assaulting her,” the affidavit says. “Brandy stated as she exited the house she turned and swung at James with ‘something she had on her’ and then she walked away. Brandy refused to admit she stabbed James with a knife.”

An August 2010 police report lists Williams as the accuser in an assault with bodily injury at the residence. Fort Worth homicide Sgt. Joe Loughman confirmed that Smallwood was listed as the suspect in that case.

Tarrant County records show that Williams has convictions for prostitution and theft of property.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Fort Worth woman accused of fatally stabbing half brother."