Final Arguments Begin in the Case of the Missing Body

By Jorge Casuso

Amber Lee Williams clearly knew what she was doing when she tortured and helped kill Nilda Raquel Arrabal, disposing of the body and the shattered iron she used to burn and bludgeon the victim, said district attorney Renee Meckler in her closing arguments Thursday.

Asking the jury to convict Williams, 23, of first degree murder, Meckler outlined a gory, blood-strewn path that led to the Feb. 22, 1998 drowning of Arabal, 37, in the bathtub of the Santa Monica apartment the victim hoped to share with her two daughters.

"The last few hours of Nilda Arrabal's life were filled with pain and torture," Meckler said, "and the woman she would try to help, give shelter to, would end her life."

Because a corpse was never found, the case against Williams, who is pleading self defense, rests primarily on a riveting videotaped confession where the defendant outlines the gruesome killing. Her accomplice, a friend named Ricky, has never been identified or found.

"The only thing we know happened is what the defendant tells us," Meckler said. "There's no body, no weapon. She doesn't think she did anything wrong when she burned her back, when she broke the iron to pieces against her head."

Meckler derided any notion Williams was acting in self defense, noting that the victim was pulled back into the blood-splattered apartment when she tried to crawl out the front door screaming for help.

"What gives (Williams) the idea she's going to be reasonably killed?" Meckler told the jury. "The victim's at the door…. She's bloody, she's crawling…. Who has the upper hand? Where is the danger to the life of the defendant. The victim is not fighting back."

In addition, the scratches and bite marks sustained by the defendant during the struggle were minor and clearly showed the victim had been beaten down. Two of the bite marks, for example, were on Williams' legs.

"It doesn't seem to be a very offensive position (for Arrabal) to be in," Meckler said.

There was not only premeditation involved in the killing, but when Arrabal wouldn't die after being burned and bludgeoned, Williams and her accomplice carefully planned her drowning. While dragging her towards the bathtub, the two discussed the best water temperature and who should fill the tub

"There are discussions along the way," Meckler said. "Is there time for refection and premeditation? You bet, all over this case."

Williams and Ricky not only willfully and deliberately murdered Arrabal, they tried to hide any traces a crime had been committed, Meckler said. They wrapped the corpse in a futon cover and tried to clean up the bloodstained apartment with bleach. But the death struggle had left too much blood too clean up completely.

Pictures of the crime scene displayed by the prosecution showed traces of blood on the television set, the stereo, two chairs, under the carpet, on door frames and walls, even inside a kitchen cupboard, Meckler said.

"They had at least two full days to clean up the blood," Meckler said, "and look at what is still there."

Williams then tried to cover up the murder by taking Arrabals identification cards and some of her belongings, telling police the victim had left town on a trip.

"She took a picture of her daughter," Meckler said. "It's kind of a sick souvenir to take when she killed the mother."

Arrabal was turning her life around when she was killed, Meckler said. She had recently moved into the apartment on the 1500 block of Sixth street she hoped to share with her 15 and two-year-old daughters.

The defense will make its closing arguments Friday at 10 a.m. in Santa Monica Court, Department M.