William Willis

The killer bashed William (Jack) Willis, 61, over the head with a baseball bat and an ax handle, stabbed him twice in the torso and cut his throat, police said.Willis was found lying in a pool of blood in his third-floor apartment on Eighth Ave. Thursday afternoon.
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After intensive questioning, however, Wilson admitted to trying to rob Willis of the ring and killing him when the older man resisted, the source said.
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"[Willis] didn't let anyone take his property," said Daniel, who added that the victim was very proud of his ring.
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Willis, a retired Sanitation Department worker, was a popular figure in the Drew Hamilton Houses, where he worked on tenant patrol five nights a week and frequently hosted parties in his apartment.

He also was a skilled amateur auto mechanic who freely offered his services to neighbors, friends said.

"He was a very nice person.Whatever you needed, he was there," said Alfreda Richardson, 50, a friend of Willis' for decades.

William Willis

An elderly Harlem man was butchered for refusing to hand over his gold Masonic ring to a parolee who lived upstairs, police said yesterday.

The killer bashed William (Jack) Willis, 61, over the head with a baseball bat and an ax handle, stabbed him twice in the torso and cut his throat, police said.Willis was found lying in a pool of blood in his third-floor apartment on Eighth Ave. Thursday afternoon.
...
After intensive questioning, however, Wilson admitted to trying to rob Willis of the ring and killing him when the older man resisted, the source said.
...
"[Willis] didn't let anyone take his property," said Daniel, who added that the victim was very proud of his ring.
...
Willis, a retired Sanitation Department worker, was a popular figure in the Drew Hamilton Houses, where he worked on tenant patrol five nights a week and frequently hosted parties in his apartment.

He also was a skilled amateur auto mechanic who freely offered his services to neighbors, friends said.

"He was a very nice person.Whatever you needed, he was there," said Alfreda Richardson, 50, a friend of Willis' for decades.