Murderer sentenced to life in prison

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

PAULDING — A Paulding County man accused of killing a woman and her husband in December of 2022, then stealing their car and fleeing the area has changed his plea and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Clay Dockery, 24, who’s address is listed as the Paulding County Jail, appeared in Paulding County Common Pleas Court last Thursday and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, both unclassified felonies. Court records show Judge Tiffany Beckman then sentenced Dockery to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The charges were tied to the early December, 2022 deaths of Celecitas Pelegrino Williams, 60, and her husband, Bruce K. Williams, 81. The two were found dead in a barn on their property in the 6500 block of Road 123, near Broughton.

According to a report issued by Paulding County Sheriff Jason K. Landers, deputies went to their home for a welfare check, after co-workers of Williams became concerned after she had not reported to work for two days, hadn’t called off sick and had not answered her phone.

While deputies were processing the scene, a call came in from the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office that Dockery was driving a vehicle owned by the couple when it broke down in the northeast Ohio county. He admitted to Ashtabula County authorities that he killed the two and stole the vehicle.

Shortly after that, Dockery was returned to Paulding County and was jailed on $10 million bond. While awaiting trial, Dockery underwent two mental health evaluations and was found competent to stand trial.

According to court records, after his guilty plea and before sentence was imposed, the son and daughter-in-law of Bruce Williams addressed Dockery.