Register Staff
12-5-2009

Murder charges have been filed against Edward George Keller, Jr. in connection with the death of James Eugene Williams Thanksgiving night.
According to Inyo County District Attorney Art Maillet, Keller, a 17-year-old juvenile, will be charged as an adult.
A preliminary hearing has been set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 in Department 1 of the Inyo County Superior Court in Independence.
“Although Mr. Keller is a minor, the law allows the District Attorney to treat him as an adult for this offence,” Maillet said via press release Friday. “Accordingly, the District Attorney’s Office elected to direct file this case in Superior Court, and Mr. Keller will be will be tried for this offence as an adult and not a juvenile.”
According to Inyo County Sheriff’s Investigator Jeff Hollowell, investigators apprehended and interviewed Keller Tuesday morning. After being taken into custody, Keller allegedly confessed to the attack that cost Williams his life during a family get-together on Thanksgiving at 299 N. Barlow Ln.
Initially, sheriff’s deputies arrested 21-year-old Morgan Wade Kinney, Jr. in connection with the murder. Kinney is still in custody at Inyo County Jail on a parole violation.
The Sheriff’s Department initially reported that deputies, upon arriving in response to an ambulance/physical disturbance call shortly after 10 p.m., disovered Kinney passed out on the floor of the house. Williams was also discovered on the floor of the home, suffering from blunt force trauma to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
There is a discrepancy among the deputies’ reports as to Kinney’s actual condition, with one officer claiming he was unconscious, and another saying he was conscious but incoherent.
Keller was among four individuals (including Kinney) who were initially detained at the scene on Thanksgiving. He is being held at the county juvenile facility in Independence.