Dateline: Infatuation - Who was Daniel Willyam and why did he murder Samantha 'Shelley' Nance? Disturbing details of the 2009 homicide, revisited 

The 2009 homicide case involving a 20-year-old gained massive media attention and was featured on the popular true crime show Dateline with its episode titled Infatuation. Samantha “Shelley” Nance, a bright and artistic student at the Art Institute of Dallas, Texas, was brutally murdered in her own apartment, leaving the surrounding community and her family devastated.

What made the case even more chilling was the identity of her killer. Daniel Willyam was her boyfriend Nathan's gay roommate and a fellow student at the college. This suggested the case as a twisted mix of obsession, jealousy, and hatred. Investigation revealed that Daniel never liked Shelley and Nathan's closeness with her. Read on to know who Willyam was, and some crucial details about the murder case are explored.

Dateline: Infatuation - Who was Daniel Willyam, and why did he murder Samantha 'Shelley' Nance?

As mentioned, Willyam was identified as gay and was a former Navy pastry Chef in the same art institute as Shelley. He was also her boyfriend's roommate; therefore, he had easy access to the couple. The investigators also observed that Daniel had some anger issues. While serving in the Navy, he was removed from the ship as his superiors believed he could attack them in the heat of the moment.

On the night of the murder, Shelley was sleeping in her own bed when she was attacked and stabbed 42 times in the back and the neck. The prosecutor claims the attack seems like a result of pure rage. During the investigation, robbery was quickly ruled out as there were no signs of forced entry or missing valuable items.

In the Dateline episode titled Infatuation, Shelley's mother, Cynthia, agrees to appear on camera as she wants “people to see the person I knew that no one else knew.”

"She was my youngest daughter, one of three,” Cynthia said. “She was everything. I just need people to know that she was alive and she had dreams for the future, and that we’re not going to forget her and I don’t want anybody else to forget her"

When clouds set and Daniel emerges as the culprit, the investigation revealed that he killed Shelley out of intense jealousy of her relationship with Nathan. Daniel's emotions were obsessive, and he probably felt excluded after Shelley intervened in his roommate's life. Assistant District Attorney Dewey Mitchell stated at trial:

“It was not a burglary. It was not a sexual assault. It was hatred.”

They argued that Willyam’s rage built over time until it exploded in a calculated, personal act of violence, per the Dateline episode.

Here are some disturbing details of the 2009 homicide, as shown in Dateline

Nathan came forward during the interrogation and uttered Daniel's name as someone who had access to his bathroom, as shown on Dateline. He also admitted that he was the one jealous of his relationship with Shelley. Many of Nathan and Shelley's friends doubt if Nathan and Daniel's relationship was simply that of roommates. Daniel also bummed out somtimes when the couple didn't invite him out on their dates, while Shelley was aware of Daniel's disliking towards her.

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On the Day of the murder, Daniel texted Shelley several times, asking if she was home or in the institute. Moreover, around the time of the murder, Daniel was caught on CCTV footage of a supermarket nearby Shelley's house buying some hair dye soap and a box of nitrile gloves.

The defence portrayed that Nathan is the real killer while Daniel has been framed for the same. But the prosecutor had several pieces of evidence against Daniel and a strong case, while Nathan is portrayed as someone who does not have the guts to kill anyone. Willyam was arrested, tried, and eventually convicted of Shelley’s murder. He is currently serving a life sentence, as confirmed in Dateline.

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