WEST POINT – A West Point man was sentenced to 41 years in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty this week to the 2022 capital murder of Mikel Craven in Clay County Circuit Court.

William Austin Hill, 20, also received a concurrent 10-year sentence for the aggravated assault of Jesse James Williamson in 2021.

The sentences were part of a plea agreement, 16th Circuit District Attorney Scott Colom said in a press release issued Wednesday.

“While no sentence can ever truly compensate for the loss of a life, the Craven family told me that a sentence of 41 years was satisfactory because Mikel was 41 when he was murdered,” he said. “We hope this outcome provides some comfort to those who loved Mikel Craven.”

The capital murder charge stemmed from an incident on March 11, 2022, when Clay County sheriff’s deputies responded to 226 Blake Road in reference to a man who was lying in a ditch, barely breathing.

The man, later identified as Craven, died at the scene. An autopsy determined his death was the result of four gunshot wounds.

Investigators found social media messages indicating Hill had conspired with others to rob Craven. Hill entered Craven’s residence armed, and after seeing Craven had a potential weapon to defend himself with, he shot and killed him, the press release said.

Colom told The Dispatch the aggravated assault charge stemmed from a separate incident when Hill stabbed another teenager in 2021.

Opting to forgo a trial and the potential of a harsher sentence, Hill chose to accept a plea deal. Because he was a minor at the time of the capital murder, he was subject to a potential sentence between 25 and 50 years.

Three other teenagers – Emerson Houston, Jeremy Klutts Jr. and Greyson Klutts – were charged with capital murder in connection with Craven’s death in 2022. Their charges are still pending, the press release said.

McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.