‘He does not deserve this’ Manchester man who beat eight strokes killed by cowards

For years, every phone call about Andrew Williams sent his family into panic. The 57-year-old had survived eight strokes, battled diabetes, severe hypertension, and a heart condition, and repeatedly defied the odds. Each health scare brought fresh prayers, sleepless nights, and anxious hospital visits, leaving relatives convinced that, if they ever lost him, it would be to the illnesses he had fought so courageously.

Instead, the man they spent years trying to keep alive was stolen from them in an act of brutal violence. Last Thursday, the body of the humble landscaper and community cook, affectionately known as ‘One Son’, was found riddled with bullets inside his home in Trinity, near Porus, Manchester, leaving his devastated family struggling to comprehend how a man they feared would succumb to sickness ultimately became the victim of a senseless killing.

“Nobody, nothing can justify that,” his eldest son, Castio said. “He does not deserve that. He is a humble man.”

Castio, who lives overseas, told THE STAR that the memories of that morning remain painfully vivid. His mother, who remained close friends with Williams despite their separation, telephoned him moments after neighbours raised the alarm.

At first, nothing suggested murder.

Castio recalled arriving home from work when his mother called in a panic, saying someone had reported that Williams was lying on the ground unconscious. Believing his father had suffered another stroke or heart attack, he said. “I told her to go in there and check for pulse because it could be his heart or strokes,” he said, explaining that his first thought was that Williams had suffered a health emergency. But, moments later, everything changed.

His mother told him blood was visible, and neighbours were warning against entering the house because they had heard gunshots.

Insisting that his mother enter the dwelling to check on Williams, Castio admitted that he “started to cuss” but the call suddenly ended.

Desperate for answers, he contacted a cousin working in May Pen and begged him to drive to the house.

The wait, he said, felt endless.

When his cousin finally arrived about 20 minutes later, the confirmation shattered what little hope remained.

“He went in there and told me it looks like he got gunshot. I told him this can’t be real and they must be crazy,” he said as he broke down in tears asking why his father died that way.

Williams’ bullet-riddled body was found in his bedroom.

Castio d.escribed him as “the jack of all trades” who simply “kept working” He fondly remembered following his father from the cookshop to landscaping jobs every weekend.

“He did painting, plumbing, electrical, he is just that type of man. ... Cook a funeral, party, any cooking event, he is there in the community. He is just that type of man,” the son said.

For Castio, the pain of losing his father in such a brutal manner remains overwhelming. Even as he grieves, he is determined to see those responsible brought to justice.

“He does not deserve this. My dad is an innocent man, and I will take that to my grave. I will do everything within the law to bring justice and closure,” he said.

“That man is my hero — and the hero of many people.,” he added.