Man was acting 'crazy' before strangling woman, toddler, friend says

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Friends of a woman who was killed in Gwinnett County said she told them before her death that the man accused of killing her had attacked her before.

Police arrested Brandon Williams, who is accused of killing Natalie Nation and her 2-year-old son, Cole.

"The 911 caller reported that the son had choked both the victims, so that's something we're still exploring," Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Deon Washington said.

Channel 2’s Tony Thomas dug through records showing that Williams has been in and out of the Gwinnett County Jail and hospitals several times.

The last time was earlier this month when his father told officers that the 32-year-old had not been taking his meds.

Friends told Thomas that Williams was acting crazy again on Sunday night.

Family friend Brent Lenz said Williams was acting so strange Sunday night that he recorded it and then later gave the video to police.

“He was talking to the TV screen, saying he had done sacrificed them,” Lenz told Thomas.

Minutes later, after Lenz and Brandon's father stepped outside, police said Williams choked Nation and Cole with a towel.

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The family lived in an upstairs room of the Tybee Drive home owned by Williams' father.

“She was trying so hard, and all she wanted was a good life for her and her son,” friend Jamie Lamb said.

Police arrested Williams early Monday morning at a nearby gas station. Friends said Nation told them that Williams attacked her once before.

“Brandon had choked her to the point she had blacked out and he had revived her by doing CPR … previously and she wanted someone to know that if anything ever happened to her,” Lenz said.

Records show that police used a stun gun on Williams earlier this month after neighbors complained that he was looking into vehicles and licking windows.

When police arrived, an officer said Williams claimed that "he was outside looking for signs of the universe. He kept asking me and another officer if we were ‘six-pointed stars.’”

Williams was involuntarily committed for treatment.

“Now we have to get justice for her,” Lamb told Thomas.

Williams is in the Gwinnett County Jail. He will likely make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon, charged with two murders.

Cox Media Group