East St. Louis man set woman’s house on fire while she was inside, police say

An East St. Louis man has been charged with setting a woman’s house on fire while she was inside, police say.

Edward C. Williams, 43, was charged with aggravated arson, residential arson and domestic battery Nov. 13 in connection with a Nov. 8 incident where police say he set fire to a house on the 1400 block of Martin Luther King Drive in East St. Louis, knowing a woman was inside.

Charges also say Williams pushed the woman on that same day. Williams is a “household member” of the woman’s, according to charges. His listed address, however, is not on Martin Luther King Drive.

Williams was booked into the St. Clair County Jail on Saturday, and was still in custody as of Monday evening. He was being held on $150,000 bail.

He has a pending charge for criminal damage to property from 2015. Online court records show he did not show up for his 2015 hearing, and was taken into custody on a warrant in November 2017. He was convicted of battery in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998, and served 89 days total in jail for all four convictions. He was sentenced to 60 days in prison and two years of probation in 1994 for stealing a car.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 7:52 PM with the headline "East St. Louis man set woman’s house on fire while she was inside, police say."