A jury in Iowa’s 6th Judicial District delivered a “not guilty” verdict on April 28 for a man arrested on murder charges after allegedly shooting and killing an Iowa City man in March 2025. 

Antavis Watson, 45, was found not guilty, following a jury trial lasting from April 14-23, in the shooting death of then 38-year-old Iowa City resident Elijah Williams, as well as a charge of attempted murder of Mindy Colwell, of Iowa City, Williams’s girlfriend, after Watson allegedly injured her, according to court documents. 

Watson remains on a $5,000 bond each for two other charges, including charges of possession of a firearm with previous felony and domestic violence charges, according to court documents. 

Watson pled guilty to the two charges on April 2, though no sentencing date was set at the time of publication. 

Court documents reflect that Watson’s attorneys, Peter Stiefel, Dennis Cohen, and Johnson County public defender Caleb Jackson, claimed Watson was acting in self-defense.

Iowa City police responded to shots fired on March 28, 2025, on the 1800 block of South Gilbert Street. Watson allegedly approached the vehicle while it was parked and fired several shots into the vehicle, killing Williams and injuring Colwell.

Police found the victims in the car, later utilizing surveillance feeds to place a suspect at the scene, and later identifying Watson as having allegedly approached the vehicle before the shooting. 

According to a criminal complaint that resulted in Watson’s arrest, he and Williams were familiar with one another before the shooting, and information retrieved by law enforcement from Williams’s devices suggested the two were “feuding” before the shooting.