When Daughter Went Missing, Mother Took Investigation Into Her Own Hands

June 28, 2005 — -- When her 19-year-old daughter disappeared in 2001, the case went cold.

But Sharon Williams could not let the case rest. The Atlanta native quit her job and took the investigation into her own hands, ultimately tracking down her daughter's murderer.

"I needed to know where she was," Sharon Williams said. "She was somewhere out there and I had to find out. It bothered me every day, every minute."

The last time Sharon Williams saw her daughter, Demetria Hill, was Dec. 3, 2001, when Hill went out with a friend, Pam. The two women accepted a ride from Joseph Jay Brown, whom they had just met.

"She was young, and she was too trusting," Williams said. "I think she thought it was a date. He asked her to dinner or something."

Pam was dropped off at home; Hill was never seen again.

Williams filed a missing person's report with the Fulton County Police, but the initial investigation was fruitless.

So in January 2002, Williams pursued a lead of her own. A friend spotted a car matching the description of Brown's Camaro, and Williams gave police the license plate number.

Police brought Brown in for questioning, but released him when he denied killing Hill because there was no evidence against him, and no body had been found.

Williams was not satisfied, and was not about to give up.

"The police had to sleep," Williams said. "They had to go home to their families. I didn't. This was my family."

In April 2002, she knocked on Brown's door and confronted him.

"I just did it," Williams said. "I was driven. I didn't care. I had to find out."

When Brown became agitated, Williams ran away and reported the incident to police.

This time when Brown was brought in for questioning, he admitted he had rough sex with Hill, but insisted it was consensual and that he had dropped her off at home.

Police didn't buy it. Authorities learned Brown had four prior convictions for attempted strangulation of women. Brown had also missed two days of work following Hill's disappearance, and had scratches on his face when he returned.