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Foul play? SI: Williams tampered with evidence, says witnessPosted: Tuesday March 05, 2002 1:47 PMUpdated: Wednesday March 06, 2002 1:56 AM
NEW YORK (CNNSI.com ) -- Former NBA star Jayson Williams and another man allegedly tampered with evidence in the shooting death of a limousine driver in an effort to protect Williams, Sports Illustrated reports in this week's issue. Williams, 34, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of 55-year-old Costas Christofi, who died of a shotgun wound to the chest on Feb. 14 while apparently taking a tour of Williams' lavish estate in rural New Jersey. Prosecutors have said little about events leading up to the shooting, except that it occurred after Christofi drove a group of Williams' friends to the estate from a restaurant in Bethlehem, Pa. Prosecutors have confirmed that the shooting was originally reported as a suicide in a 911 telephone call placed by Williams' adopted brother. A witness told Sports Illustrated that he saw Williams and another person try to place Christofi's palm print and fingerprints on the gun that killed him, apparently in an effort to make a 911 call more plausible. The witness also told the magazine that Williams and two other men disposed of the bloody clothes that Williams was wearing at the time of Christofi's shooting.
Christofi had been hired to drive Williams and nine other people from a Harlem Globetrotters basketball game in Bethlehem to a restaurant in Asbury, N.J., then back to Bethlehem. The SI story, written by Tim Layden, reports that the group included four members of the Globetrotters: Chris Morris and Benoit Benjamin, both former teammates of Williams on the New Jersey Nets; Paul (Showtime) Gaffney; and Curley (Boo) Johnson. The group stayed at the restaurant for two hours. But instead of returning to Bethlehem, the group accepted an offer from Williams to visit his home, a sprawling 30,000-square-foot mansion 30 miles northwest of Trenton, N.J. They arrived about 2 a.m. About 30 minutes later, a shotgun blast shook the house. Several visitors rushed into Williams' bedroom, a source told SI, and found Christofi slumped against a wall, bleeding profusely from a massive chest wound, and Williams "freaking out." A shotgun lay on the floor nearby. According to the account in SI, Williams screamed for someone to perform CPR on Christofi. When no one responded, Williams began pressing on the driver's chest, feeling for a pulse and talking to him. According to the source, one witness said Christofi "looked like he was in shock, then all of a sudden he was dead." At 2:38 a.m., say prosecutors, Williams' adopted brother, Santiago, called 911 and reported the death as a suicide. About the same time, a witness told SI, some of Williams' guests saw him and one other man trying to place Christofi's palm print and fingerprints on the shotgun. Later, according to the witnesses, Williams changed clothes and disposed of the bloody ones he had been wearing when the driver was shot. After police arrived to find Christofi dead, they detained guests for questioning, some for as long as 18 hours. Williams submitted to a toxicology test that, according to WNBC-TV in New York, revealed a blood-alcohol level greater than .10, making him intoxicated under New Jersey law. SI also reported that all four Globetrotters who were at Williams' house have hired attorneys. SI was also told by a source that two of the Globetrotters had told the source they had been given immunity in exchange for detailed testimony. That could indicate prosecutors believe additional charges may be warranted. Williams appeared Monday at a hearing in the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Flemington, N.J., but did not enter a plea. He is not required to do so until a grand jury hands up an indictment.
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