HASTINGS, Minn. – After a five-day trial a jury found a Red Wing man guilty in the 2021 murder of a Hastings woman. The judge immediately sentenced Kyle Williams, 35, to life in prison without parole. Dakota County Judge Dannia Edwards passed down the sentence. The criminal complaint said the victim, Kelly Kocurek, was helpless from a pre-existing injury to an arm that limited the use of her hand and made it necessary for her to receive assistance in getting dressed and with other daily activities. Williams had called 911 from the hotel that he heard a woman screaming hysterically and then discovered that Kocurek had somehow strangled herself. When first-responders arrived, they found Kocurek unresponsive on the floor next to several cut cords. An autopsy concluded that her injuries were inconsistent with self-inflicted wounds and came from a physical assault. Williams’ trial had delayed multiple times for psychological exams on whether he was incompetent to participate in his own legal proceedings. The final answer: Yes, he was.
Williams. Hs claim that she strangled herself to death didn’t stand up.