UPDATE: Thursday 10/1 @ 1:30pm
POMEROY, Ohio (WSAZ) – Charles Williams has avoided a possible death penalty trial by pleading guilty to the murder Doris Jackson.

Jackson was found dead in her home in Tuppers Plains, Ohio, back in February.

The Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney says Williams, 40, of Wood County pleaded guilty to these charges during a hearing in Meigs County Common Pleas Court Wednesday morning:

• two counts of aggravated murder
  
• three counts of kidnapping
  
• one count of aggravated robbery
  
• one count of aggravated burglary
  
• one count of tampering with evidence
  
• one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle
  
• one count of receiving stolen property

During that hearing, prosecutors told the court that Williams entered Jackson’s home, strangled and restrained her, cut her with a knife, and bludgeoned her. Williams then hid her body under items in her house.

Prosecutors say Williams then stole firearms, money, and other items. from the house. They say he loaded those items into her car, picked up a friend, drove the car to Columbus, then to The Plains in Athens County where he abandoned the vehicle at an apartment complex.

Williams was later arrested in Wood County on a probation violation.

Following the plea, Williams was immediately sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after thirty years on the aggravated murder charges.

He was also sentenced to ten years on the kidnapping charge, ten years on the aggravated charge, ten years on the aggravated burglary charge, five years for tampering with evidence, five years for grand theft of a motor vehicle and eighteen months for receiving stolen property.

The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently (at the same time).

By pleading guilty, Williams avoided the possibility of the death penalty on the murder charges.

Members of the Doris Jackson's family were in the court for the hearing, and addressed the court regarding their loss.

"Nothing we can do will bring back Doris Jackson, but a very dangerous person has been convicted and punished for his offenses," said Prosecuting Attorney Colleen Williams.

39-year-old Charles Williams of Wood County, West Virginia, appeared in Meigs County Common Pleas Court Thursday afternoon.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of Aggravated Murder, Kidnapping,
Aggravated Robbery, and Aggravated Burglary, among other things. The charges come with the possibility of the death penalty.

Doris Jackson was found dead in her home February 23rd.

39-year-old James Garnes of Pomeroy has also been charged in the case. He is charged with Tampering with Evidence, Receiving Stolen
Property,and Obstructing Justice.

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According to a news release from Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney Colleen S. Williams, Charles Sirden Williams, 39, of Wood County, West Virginia, was charged with two counts of Aggravated Murder, each with three specifications of aggravating circumstances; three counts of Kidnapping; one count of Aggravated Robbery; one count of Aggravated Burglary; one count of Tampering with Evidence; one count of Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle and one count of Receiving Stolen Property.

[ WEB EXTRA: read the indictment by clicking on the document link above ]

Jackson was reported missing on February 23 and found dead in her house on Arpaugh Road in Tuppers Plains on February 26. A preliminary autopsy report indicates that Jackson was strangled.

Charles Williams is currently in the North Central Regional Jail in West Virginia on an unrelated parole violation. He will be formally served the Indictment by West Virginia authorities.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Colleen Williams, each of the Aggravated Murder counts carries the possibility of the death penalty under Ohio law. Each of the Kidnapping counts is a felony of the first degree, and carries a possible sentence of ten years. Aggravated Burglary and Aggravated Robbery are also felonies of the first degree. Tampering with Evidence is a felony of the third degree and carries a possible penalty of five years in prison. Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, as charged, is also a felony of the third degree. Receiving Stolen Property, as charged, is a felony of the fourth degree, and carries a possible penalty of eighteen months.

Once Charles Williams is served copies of the Indictment and warrant from Ohio, he may willingly return to Meigs County to answer the charges.

“If he refuses to come back voluntarily, my office will immediately begin the process of obtaining a Governor’s Warrant to bring him back, “ Prosecuting Attorney Colleen S. Williams said.

A second man, James Lee Garnes, 39, of Pomeroy, was charged by Indictment with one count of Tampering with Evidence, a felony of the third degree; one count of Receiving Stolen Property (Motor Vehicle), a felony of the fourth degree and one count of Obstructing Justice, a felony of the third degree. Garnes is not charged with the death of Doris Jackson.

Williams is currently in the North Central Regional Jail in West Virginia on an unrelated parole violation.

County prosecutor Colleen Williams says that once the paperwork is served, Charles Williams may come back to Ohio willingly to face the charges.

“If he refuses to come back voluntarily, my office will immediately begin the process of obtaining a Governor’s Warrant to bring him back,“ Colleen Williams said.

Last week, Williams and 39-year-old James Lee Garnes of Pomeroy were charged with receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence in connection with the case.

Jackson was found strangled to death in her home in Tuppers Plains back in February.

According to the report, she was also stabbed and suffered blunt force trauma.

"We are especially grateful to agents of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for the untold hours that they have put in, and continue to put in, as well as Sheriff Robert E. Beegle and his deputies, and all the other departments and agencies that have stepped up and helped out; we had deputies from Washington County Sheriff Larry Minks office come down to help out the night the body was discovered, and, of course, it was the Athens Police Department that found her car," Colleen Williams said.

According to a news release from the Ohio Attorney General's Office, 39-year-old James Lee Garnes of Pomeroy and 39-year-old Charles Williams were arrested and charged Thursday.

Each is facing one count of tampering with evidence and one count of receiving stolen property relating to Doris Jackson's 1989 Mercury Marquis. The car was missing after Jackson was found dead in her home in Tuppers Plains on February 26. The vehicle was found two days later in Athens, Ohio.

The Meigs County Sheriff's Department took Garnes into custody Thursday afternoon, but Williams was already in Custody in the North Central Regional Jail in Greenwood, W.Va.

The investigation into Jackson's murder continues. No charges have been filed in direct connection with her death.

The Meigs County Sheriff's Department is working with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation on this case.

Anyone with any information related to the murder of Doris Jackson is asked to contact the Meigs County Sheriff's Office at (740) 992-3371.

According to a news release from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, 83-year-old Doris Jackson's 1989 Mercury Marquis was found Saturday in Athens.

Jackson was reported missing on February 23 and found dead in her house on Arpaugh Road in Tuppers Plains on February 26. A preliminary autopsy report indicates that Jackson was strangled.

Deputies say the front door to her home was unlocked and there was no sign of forced entry, so they believe that she and the killer knew each other.

Anyone with any information related to the murder of Doris Jackson is asked to contact the Meigs County Sheriff's Office at (740) 992-3371.

"We usually don't lock our doors out here, but last night we did," said Maureen Kuhn, who lives across the street from Jackson's home.

Police said Jackson was found dead Thursday afternoon in her living room under clothes, boxes and other items.

"As I told my husband, I'm shaking inside cause it's so close to us," Kuhn said. "It does happen, I guess."

Kenny Rockhold and his family have lived next door to Jackson for just two months.

"We used to live in the country and then moved to the city cause it's safer," he said. "It's different, but we're staying."

Police tape still surrounds Jackson's home where, earlier in the week, the garage door was left open and her car was missing. Friends and family thought she took a drive, but never without locking her home.

Earlier in the week, sheriff's deputies said Jackson's car was spotted on Interstate 77 near Parkersburg, W.Va., and then in the Wheelersburg, Ohio, area. On Wednesday, police were told the car was seen in Barboursville and again in the Inez area in Martin County, Ky.

"You just don't think anything like this would happen here," Kuhn said. "It's very upsetting."

Police said, however, that this is an isolated case. They said neighbors shouldn't be too concerned and, more than likely, Jackson knew her killer.

Anyone who may have seen Jackson's car or knows anything about this murder is asked to call the Meigs County Sheriff's Department at (740) 992-3371

Police are still looking for her missing car, a 1989 brown Mercury Marquis with a personalized Ohio license plate: DOEJ. There have been numerous sightings of the car reported since Jackson was last seen on Monday, including Interstate 77 near Charleston, West Virginia, US 60 in Barboursville, West Virginia, US 52 in Scioto County, Ohio and in Inez, Kentucky.

Investigators are waiting for autopsy results to determine her cause of death.

Sheriff Beegle says due to lack of staff and other resources this investigation has been turned over to the State Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification.

Sheriff Beegle also told WSAZ.com that Jackson's body was found under “three-feet of stuff” in her dining room Thursday. Her house is on Arpaugh Road in Tuppers Plains, Ohio.

The Sheriff's Department and the Ohio Bureau of Investigation are on the scene and say they are treating this as a homicide investigation.

Jackson's car is still missing. It was spotted Wednesday on I-77 traveling toward Charleston, and spotted again Thursday in Martin County, Ky.

The car is a 1989 brown Mercury Marquis with a personalized license plate that says DOEJ.

Sheriff Beegle also told WSAZ that this appears to be an isolated incident and neighbors have no need to worry.

Family members told WSAZ.com on Wednesday that when they arrived at her home on Monday, the front door was unlocked, the garage door was open and the phone line was disconnected.

Keep Clicking on WSAZ.com for more information.

Thursday afternoon, investigators found the body of Doris Jackson inside her home on Arbaugh Road in Tuppers Plains, Ohio.

Now, the Sheriff's Department and Ohio Bureau of Investigation are on the scene.

Jackson's car is still missing. It was spotted Wednesday on I-77 traveling toward Charleston, and spotted again Thursday in Martin County, Ky.

The car is a 1989 brown Mercury Marquis with a personalized license plate that says DOEJ.

Family members told WSAZ.com on Wednesday that when they arrived at her home on Monday, the front door was unlocked, the garage door was open and the phone line was disconnected.

We have a crew on the way to the scene.

Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for more information.

Officers plan to continue their search later this morning.

Doris Jackson, 83, of the Tuppers Plains area was last seen about 1:30 p.m. Monday. She is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall and about 170 pounds. She has gray hair, blue eyes and wears corrective lenses. Her car, a 1989 brown Mercury Marquis with the personalized Ohio license plate DOEJ, is also missing.

According to the sheriff's department, Jackson doesn't have any medical conditions. Her family said she's not a person who drives after dark.

There was an air search Tuesday to look for her car. They had no luck but hope to fly again Wednesday.

If you have any information on Jackson's whereabouts, please call (740) 992-3371.