On July 20, 2019, Anaheim Police Officers responded to the 1500 block of W. Center St. regarding the reports of a deceased man who was found near the end of the cul-de-sac.
Upon Officers’ arrival, they located the man, 48-year-old David McCabe of Dana Point, suffering from injuries consistent with blunt force trauma. Homicide Detectives responded and immediately launched an investigation into Mr. McCabe’s death.
During their investigation, Detectives identified Arthur Williams as the suspect responsible for killing Mr. McCabe.
MCCabe and Williams had been at the Doll Hut bar in Anaheim that night and were hanging out at Capistrano Beach earlier in the day, according to the prosecutors.
After they left the bar “things got ugly,” the defense attorney said.
Surveillance video from the Doll Hut parking lot shows McCabe and Williams walking around and talking side by side in a seemingly normal manner. At some point that changed and Williams became very aggressive toward McCabe, headbutting, pushing and striking him. McCabe appeared to make no effort to protect himself and never appears to throw a punch at Mr. Williams, according to the prosecutors.
Williams then took McCabe’s car and was aimlessly driving around for about an hour. Police eventually found the victim’s car in a Rowland Heights strip mall parking lot, according to the prosecutors.
Williams’ mother paid for him to get him an Uber ride to Santa Ana “where he showed up crying at an old friend’s home,” acccording to the defense attorney. Williams told his friends he thought he had killed McCabe. The dispute was apparently over whether Los Angeles or Orange County is better.
Shauna Kuhn, a friend of McCabe’s who was with them, testified that Williams “repeatedly brought up drug use and said he had been up for a week and was using methamphetamine,” according to the trial records.
Williams was found unconscious in Santiago Park in Santa Ana on July 20, 2019, and was taken to a hospital in Orange, according to the prosecutors. Williams attempted to leave the hospital July 24, 2019, against medical advice, but his family said he had “suicidal ideations” so the defendant was placed on a psychiatric hold, according to the prosecutors.
Several days later, Anaheim Police Investigators arrested Williams at that hospital, in the City of Orange, as he was attempting to leave against medical advice.
Williams was held in custody until a jury trial was scheduled to start in late January 2024.
On January 23, 2024, days before his jury trial was scheduled to begin, Mr. Williams pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder. On January 31, 2024, Williams was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
The Anaheim Police Department hopes the arrest and conviction bring closure to Mr. McCabe’s friends and family.
McCabe played drums for a local punk rock back known as The Knightenders. The band’s guitarist Johnny Spade told the newspaper that McCabe was the “heart of the band.” The group’s lead singer Minnie Green credited McCabe for getting her to perform in front of audiences, according to the O.C. Register.
