Judge allows more evidence in case of abuse that led to deadly shooting at Gastonia motel

More evidence will be introduced in the trial of a man charged with killing his girlfriend in Gastonia in June 2020.

Zkevis Williams is accused of shooting and killing 27-year-old Whitney Denise Petway, of Charlotte, in June 2020. The shooting happened at the Woodsprings Suites on Wren Turnpike.

A judge decided Monday that prosecutors could bring in witnesses to talk about new allegations of abuse by Williams.

According to police, Williams assaulted Petway while the state was on modified stay-at-home order during the pandemic.

Williams was ordered to stay away from her but weeks later, they ended up together again.

Prior to the killing, Williams was charged with grabbing Petway by the hair and pulling her down the hall of the motel.

Two weeks later was when the deadly shooting happened.

Williams told police it was in self-defense.

Channel 9′s Gaston County reporter Ken Lemon covered the initial call, and he was in court Monday for the new developments.

Prosecutors want to bring in witnesses to testify about the abuse.

They have evidence Williams pushed Petway down a flight of stairs days before she was killed.

Jury selection started Monday afternoon and is expected to last for a couple of days.

Derrick Petway was at the courthouse. He said he loved his little sister.

“She always knew how to bring the brightness into anything,” Petway said Monday. “Everybody loved her.”

The young woman became a U.S. Army medic before moving to Gastonia.

“She wanted to save people. That was her goal -- always to help people,” the brother said.

Petway wants people to remember his little sister for who she was.

“She was always there for everybody that she cared about and loved,” Petway said.

Locked down with abusers

Experts have said when COVID-19 lockdowns started, victims were forced to live with their alleged abusers.

Advocates called that period a vulnerable time for victims.

“They may not have been able to go to work,” said Bea Cote, the executive director of Impact Family Violence Services. “They may not have been able to see other friends and family go out. There was a lot of forced togetherness.”

Cote said some victims rely on their abusers for financial reasons.

Some crisis centers were strapped for resources.

Now, centers that help the abused use text messages and emails for first contact in addition to their call lines and in person meetings.

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