Man could get 40 years for putting girlfriend in trunk

ALFRED – A Wells man who stuffed his girlfriend into the trunk of her car faces up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty Friday of kidnapping and attempted murder.

A York County Superior Court jury also found Olin K. Williams, 23, guilty of aggravated assault, burglary of a motor vehicle and eluding a police officer. The charges stem from a violent confrontation May 9 between Williams and his girlfriend, Sara Lemay.

Jurors acquitted Williams of two minor charges – another count of burglary of a motor vehicle and obstructing a criminal prosecution.

Williams testified that he and Lemay were in the middle of a custody battle over their child. He said that she attacked him and he stuffed her into the trunk to both protect himself and prevent her from hurting herself.

Lemay gave a different version. She said she was driving to school when she noticed that her trunk was open.

When she got out to close it, Williams jumped out, hit her on the head with some kind of tool, stuffed her in the trunk and drove away. Lemay said she managed to find a cable that opened the trunk and escaped when a passing motorist intervened. Assistant District Attorney John Connelly said Williams would have killed Lemay if he had not been interrupted.

“The only reason she is alive today is because she is a survivor,” he said. “She got herself out of that trunk. If she didn’t, all bets are off.”

Defense counsel Arthur Stilphen said Williams overreacted, but never meant to kill or kidnap Lemay, so he should only have been charged with assault.

“It was a stupid decision to put her in the trunk,” Stilphen said. “It was a gross deviation from the norm. He went too far. But you can’t convict him of kidnapping and attempted murder.”

Williams will be subjected to a psychological examination before he is sentenced in about a month, said Justice Carl Bradford.