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Man charged in girlfriend's death was abusive according to family, friend

Jerry Williams, 28, of Orange, was charged with murder in the Wednesday death of Stormy Stanley, 28, after medics and police found her unresponsive in the couple's home on East Sunset in Orange.

The suspect accused of killing his longtime girlfriend in Orange had been abusive to her in the past according to family and a close friend.

Jerry Williams, 28, who has been charged in the death of Stormy Stanley, 28, admitted to police that the couple had physically fought the night before her death.

Tera Haffner, who said she was a close friend of Stanley's, told 12News she had spoken to Stanley several times about her desire to leave Williams but says that Stanley was afraid of him.

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The couple had three children together, ages 4, 9 and 17-months, and had been dating for more than 10 years according to Haffner.

"He had been violent before when she tried to get out of the house. He busted windows out and broke the TV in front of the kids," Haffner told 12News.

"She knew if she told him she wanted to leave he would do something drastic," Haffner said.

Stanley's mother and brother had begged her to leave Williams according to her sister-in-law, Amber Ledford.

"He's put her in the hospital more than once," Ledford said, adding, "She was a good mom and she loved her kids so much."

When police arrived at the home at about 1:15 p.m., October 25, 2017, Stanley was unresponsive in a bedroom of the home and being attended to by medics before she was transported to Southeast Texas Medical Center where she later died according to police.

Williams later admitted to detectives in an interview that the couple had been fighting the night before after he had told Stanley that he was having another child with a different woman according to a probable cause affidavit.

Williams told detectives that the argument became physical when Stanley slapped him across the face.

He then told police that he became angry and shoved her to the floor where she struck her head on a door hinge that was attached to a closet door in the master bedroom of the home according to the affidavit.

Williams also admitted to detectives that he had slapped Stanley across the face at one point during the altercation.

Williams showed detectives where the assault took place and where he later helped Stanley into bed where he said she slept that night the affidavit said.

He told detectives that after the fight he helped Stanley into the bathroom and helped her take a shower.

While detectives were at the home they noticed what appeared to blood on the doorframe of a bathroom in the hallway of the home.

Williams then said that he had helped Stanley into bed where he said he heard her "snoring" and believed that she was asleep according to the affidavit.

When Williams woke up Wednesday morning and got out of bed Stanley was still sleeping when he left to get food he told police.

Upon his return to the home Williams found that Stanley was barely breathing and then called 911 for help according to what he told police.

According to the affidavit detectives went to see Stanley at the hospital before she died and medical staff gave them a preliminary status on her.

Medical staff told detectives that she had multiple bruising in various stages of healing, traumatic injury to her face and abdomen with bruising, traumatic injury to both hips, and brain injuries consistent with infraction and soft tissue hemorrhage to her face.

Williams is currently in the Orange County Correctional Center where his bond has been set at $500,000 according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Police say that the children are staying with family at this time.

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