Inset: Norman Hollowell Jr. (Metropolitan Funeral Service). Background: The Pretty Lake Avenue apartment complex in Norfolk, Va., where Hollowell was fatally shot by a childhood friend (WVEC).
A dispute over a television ended in deadly violence when a 25-year-old Virginia man shot his childhood friend eight times, leaving him dying on the floor of a Norfolk apartment, authorities said.
Steven Edward Williams Jr. was found guilty of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a murder for the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Norman Hollowell Jr., according to prosecutors.
The shooting happened on July 24, 2024, at an apartment complex along Pretty Lake Avenue in Norfolk. Prosecutors said Williams showed up outside Hollowell’s apartment armed with a gun. Months earlier, Williams’ brother had lived with Hollowell and had left a television behind after moving out.
Although the brother had said he planned to come back for the TV, he never retrieved it, and Hollowell eventually sold it. On the day of the shooting, Williams discovered the television was gone and repeatedly called Hollowell, officials said.
At the time, Hollowell was caring for his young nephew while also working food delivery jobs. After several calls, he finally picked up and told Williams to meet him at the apartment.
Before going inside, Hollowell locked his nephew safely in his car and sent his mother a brief text message: “I love you.” He then entered the apartment, where Williams was waiting. During the trial, Williams claimed he had not known the TV had been sold, but prosecutors said evidence showed otherwise, including that he had seen the sale on Hollowell’s Facebook page.
Hollowell offered Williams a different television, but the encounter escalated when Hollowell saw two other men approaching the apartment. Within two minutes, doorbell camera footage captured Williams leaving with a gun while the two men ran out carrying a TV, prosecutors said.
Cops later found Hollowell suffering from gunshot wounds on his living room floor. A medical examiner later determined he died of blood loss.
Williams claimed he shot Hollowell in self-defense. He said Hollowell pointed a gun at his face. But there was no evidence that Hollowell had done so, prosecutors said.
After the shooting, the suspect deactivated his Facebook account and ditched the gun, which was later recovered.
A jury deliberated for about three hours before coming back with a guilty verdict.
“The legal standard to prove someone’s guilt as charged is high; the standard for the defense of self-defense is much lower. After considering the evidence and their instructions, the jury came to the same conclusion that we did: Mr. Williams was not acting in self-defense, and he was guilty of murder,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Williams took the life of someone he had known since childhood. I grieve for Mr. Hollowell and for his family, and I hope that this verdict brings them some closure. At sentencing we will seek a term of confinement for Mr. Williams that reflects the harm he has committed.”
Williams is slated to be sentenced on Dec. 18.
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