TYLER, Texas — After seven days of hearing testimony and evidence, jurors in the trial of a Tatum man accused of killing a missing Tyler woman in 2023 are expected to begin deliberations Thursday.
Jesse Lee Williams is charged with murder in the disappearance of Paula Belonga, 51. He pleaded not guilty to the charge last week. She was last seen on April 7, 2023 leaving her apartment complex on Paluxy Drive in her Chevrolet Impala.
After testimony regarding Williams’ third police interview, both the state and defense rested their cases Wednesday afternoon. Williams decided not to testify on his behalf.
The jury was dismissed until 8:30 a.m. Thursday for closing arguments, which will then be followed by jury deliberations.
Following the dismissal, the defense asked for a directed verdict of not guilty, saying there is not sufficient evidence for a jury to find him guilty. Judge Austin Reeve Jackson denied this request.
Tyler Police Department Detective Cory Chamberlain was on the witness stand for most of the day along with the interview he conducted with Williams at the Tyler Police Department.
Chamberlain said he and the other detective had only heard lie after lie from Williams, and they decided to introduce a new strategy of giving him an "out," such as suggesting that something must've happened between him and Belonga even if it was an accident.
The detectives noticed throughout this interview that some details from Williams stayed the same, some changed and others were added.
Williams again described the man, Cory Smith, he claimed Belonga ran off with by giving different details about his appearance and saying the road he lives on in Chapel Hill. He also claimed his brother's ex-wife had a baby with Cory Smith about 12 years ago.
Williams told Chamberlain he asked Belonga for money two or three times, and the most he asked for was $70 or $80 via CashApp to pay a bill. Williams said he knew Belonga was also helping her son at the time and he said she never used this as an excuse not to loan Williams money. However, deleted messages from Belonga showed she denied his request for money.
He claimed Belonga hit a deer with her car and he planned to fix the car with Belonga paying for him doing the repairs. Williams said Belonga wrote the checks that were found in Williams wallet, and Chamberlain disputed this fact based on handwriting documentation from other documents belonging to Belonga.
Williams maintained the checks were written by Belonga. He told police that Belonga would do cocaine, but he never did any of the drugs. Williams said Belonga doesn't take the dog everywhere she goes, which was contrary to what her family and friends said in court.
He also claimed he bought Belonga a necklace when they exchanged Christmas presents. He also said he got her a piece of jewelry for her most recent birthday.
He told police he has no reason to lie and he's not the type to hurt anybody.
Williams said he met Belonga in New York and he helped her when she was moving from there. He claimed they reconnected via Facebook in 2021, and there was never any romantic relationship with Belonga and him.
Regarding the deleted messages in his phone, Williams said he deleted them because his wife would be jealous when he saw him text any woman.
Upon further questioning, Williams said he left with Belonga on April 7, 2023, to get cigarettes at a gas station and they went back to her place with a group. Williams said he and Belonga then went to his house in Tatum, then to Zavalla and came back to Tyler. He claimed Belonga followed him in her car to these locations.
Williams told police Belonga is not a violent person and she was never violent with him. Police asked what Belonga may have done to make him upset. He became loud and said that investigators were trying to pin something on him.
"I wouldn't kill nobody. I don't know what happened to Paula. I don't know what happened," Williams said while crying. "I don't know where she's at."
In response to the detective asking why he searched “how long does it take for a body to decompose in the heat,” he said, “it’s on TikTok.” He claimed he Googled “body found Rusk County” because it was on the news that two people were arrested after a body was found.
He claimed he bought her a necklace that had the initials BF for best friend. The town in New York where Williams said he lived could not be found by the detective. Williams said Belonga told him to download the app that manipulates where a text message comes from.
Chamberlain was not aware that Belonga attempted to end her life years ago and received medication for bipolar disorder. Chamberlain agreed that a suspect does not have to tell the truth to police. At the time of the third interview, no DNA test results had been returned.
The defense made a claim that Williams purchased Belonga an iPhone, but Chamberlain didn’t know anything about it. He told the defense he didn’t check any place in Louisiana for Cory Smith.
Chamberlain said if a person took a car like Belonga in the dirt road where the necklace was found, the general public would say that car went mudding. He recalled speaking to oil workers in the area to see if they smelled anything that seemed foul.
Despite phone data saying Williams and Belonga traveled together and Google searches, the police just have not been able to tell where Belonga died, Chamberlain said.
To this day, Belonga has been in the missing persons database and she hasn't been heard from since. To Chamberlain's knowledge, Belonga did not survive from April 7 to April 8, 2023.
The defense called Chamberlain back to the stand to ask about a voicemail in May 2023 saying someone may have seen Belonga at a dollar store in Sulphur, Louisiana.
There was so much information showing she did not survive April 7, 2023. So police did not find it viable to pursue the vague tip. Financial records would've shown that she was shopping there if it were true, Chamberlain said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBS19 is available live and on-demand on your favorite TV streaming device, anytime from anywhere in the U.S.
The free CBS19+ app for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and smart TV devices features a 24/7 stream with the latest from CBS19.
In addition to the live stream, watch the latest from CBS19 on-demand, along with additional programming from our partners at TEGNA (like Verify, "Murder at My Door" and "In the News") and Locked On Sports, plus special collections from CBS19 like Under the Lights, Hooked on East Texas and CBS19 Originals.
DOWNLOAD ON ROKU
Add the free CBS19 channel by searching for CBS19 East Texas News in the Roku Channel Store on your device, or add the CBS19+ Roku channel using this link.
DOWNLOAD ON FIRE TV
Search for the free CBS19+ app in the Amazon App Store directly on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, or add the CBS19+ Fire TV app using this link.
DOWNLOAD ON APPLE TV
Learn more about the free CBS19+ app in the Apple TV App Store and download directly from your Apple TV device.
DOWNLOAD ON YOUR SMART TV
The CBS19+ app is also now available directly on "smart" or "connected" televisions made by Samsung, LG and Philips, as well as televisions with Android TV. Search for CBS19 East Texas News in your television's app store to add CBS19+.
OTHER FREE WAYS TO WATCH
The CBS19+ 24/7 stream can be viewed on any desktop or mobile web browser anytime on the Watch page here on cbs19.tv.
You can also watch CBS19 News streaming live on the free CBS19 mobile app for your smartphone:
- CBS19 app on iOS in the Apple App Store
- CBS19 app on Android in the Google Play Store