Ex-NBA Star Williams 'Terrified' As Trial Opens
Jan. 16, 2004 -- Jayson Williams breaks down in tears as he discusses with Barbara Walters his upcoming manslaughter trial in the shooting death of a limousine driver at his New Jersey estate in Feb. 2002.
Watch Barbara Walters' full interview this Friday on 20/20.
"I'm terrified," Williams tells ABCNEWS' Barbara Walters in an exclusive interview airing this Friday on 20/20.
Williams, 35, is facing seven charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison.
Williams' career with the Nets ended after he shattered his shinbone in a mid-game collision in 1999. True to form, Williams rebounded, writing a best-selling memoir, Loose Balls and launching a successful broadcasting career with NBC.
But in the early morning hours of Feb. 14, 2002, a tragic shooting at his New Jersey estate ended the life of 55-year-old driver Costas "Gus" Christofi — and Williams' off-court career.
Christofi had driven Williams and several friends back to Williams' estate after a Harlem Globetrotters game in nearby Bethlehem, Pa. In Williams' 40-room estate, Christofi was shot with a 12-gauge Browning shotgun that Williams said he had removed from a locked cabinet in his bedroom. Williams said he was showing the gun to Christofi and some of his other guests when the gun discharged.
The details of the shooting are the primary focus of the trail now under way. The prosecutor calls it manslaughter; Williams' defense attorneys an accident. Why the gun was loaded, who was handling it, and how it went off are questions that the jury, now being selected, will have to consider.
Williams is also accused of tampering with evidence, trying to make the shooting look like a suicide. Williams' friends John Gordnick and Kent Culuko have pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and both have agreed to testify against Williams.
Williams tells Walters the shooting was an accident and that he remains haunted by the incident. "Every day I wake up, me and my wife pray together, and — all the time I'm thinking about that night. I feel sorry for Mr. Christofi and his family. … Every day people say you got to move on with your life. You have to move on. And you just can't. You will never be able to move on, never!"
A History of Mishaps with Guns
Williams has a history of mishaps with firearms. Williams was charged with reckless endangerment after a handgun he owned was fired at an unoccupied vehicle in a parking lot in 1994. He spent the next year preaching gun safety to high school students and placing advertisements in a New Jersey newspaper as part of a deal that helped him avoid a felony conviction.
Then, there was a near miss on his rifle range, in which New York Jets wide receiver narrowly escaped injury.
Walters asks Williams if he's learned from his past experiences with firearms. Williams tells Walters, "Well, this is so unrelated to what happened that night, but you know, Barbara, there are no mistakes in life, there are just lessons. And I continue to learn every day."
Williams settled a wrongful death suit with Christofi's family for a reported $2.75 million. He tells Walters he felt it was the right thing to do. "That gave our family at least one sense of peace, you know. Nothing's going to bring Mr. Christofi back, but it was an accident." Williams tells Walters he and his wife, who is expecting the couple's second child, visit Christofi's grave every week.
Williams also talks about his fear at the possibility of going to prison. "I have a beautiful family. I want to be here, for my family. I want to be here for my baby. I want to see the birth of my baby. Hopefully it's a boy. He can play for St. John's … I don't want to ever leave my family over this accident."
If he is acquitted, Williams says he will continue to focus on his family. "I give God all the glory. And try to move on. Come home and hug my wife and my children. And thank God for every day that I have with my family."