Apr 10, 2019 4 min read

All charges against a Monongahela Township man charged with fatally shooting a Fayette County man in the face were held for court following his preliminary hearing Tuesday morning.

Supporters and family members of Anthony William King, 21, sat behind him in the law library of the third floor of the Greene County Courthouse. Family and friends of William Lawrence Worry III, the 23-year-old man King allegedly shot, filled the rest of the room, donning yellow and gold shirts in solidarity.

Alicia Pressacco, King’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of Worry’s two children, ages 6 and 2, took the stand about 10:30 a.m. and told the court what happened the night of Feb. 13 and into Feb. 14.

She testified that King had told her mother that she needed to remove her children’s toys from his mobile home, at 145 Alicia Main St. near Greensboro, or he would put them out to the curb. Pressacco, 21, reportedly had moved out of the home a few days prior to the incident and moved in with Worry’s parents in Smithfield, Fayette County.

According to court documents, Pressacco told state police that she had dated King for about two years. She told the court Tuesday that she had lived with him for about two weeks before moving out.

About 9 p.m. Feb. 14, Pressacco texted King to let him know she was going to pick up the toys, she testified. She, Worry, who also was know by a nickname “Spank,” and Worry’s friend Melissa Lindsay drove together to King’s residence late that night to pick up the toys, according to testimony from Pressacco and Lindsay.

Pressacco told the court that, while stopped at a gas station, Worry used her phone to contact King.

“He asked (King) why he acted the way he did in front of our kids,” Pressacco said.

When asked multiple times by King’s attorney, Dennis Makel, if Worry threatened King over the phone or in person that night, both Pressacco and Lindsay said “no.”

Both witnesses told the court that when they arrived at the house, King didn’t come to the door to let them in, but texted Pressacco. When Worry knocked on the door, however, he let them in, they testified.

According to court documents, King sarcastically asked Pressacco, “Why don’t you invite him in for some tea?” He then walked to a back bedroom in the trailer, Pressacco and Lindsay testified.

Both women said Worry waited outside while they moved toys to the porch. Worry was then taking toys from the porch to the vehicle. The last item to be removed was a Barbie Dream House, which they needed Worry to carry, they said. He came inside the trailer, picked up the dollhouse and was at the door again when King allegedly confronted him.

“He said ‘Get the F out of my house,'” Pressacco said in court. “He had a gun pointed at Spank’s face. When Spank turned his head, that’s when he shot him.”

Pressacco and Lindsay testified that they were behind the door when the shooting happened. They had been holding it open so Worry could carry the dollhouse through.

“I heard a gun go off and I couldn’t hear out of my left ear,” Lindsay testified. “I was shocked at first. My ears were ringing, and I fell onto a chair.”

Lindsay told the court that she didn’t see King fire the gun, but after the shot rang out, she saw him holding it. She said she still has hearing problems from that night.

Pressacco said she saw Worry fall backward to the ground after being shot. She testified that she went to him but saw that he was dead.

Greene County Chief Deputy Coroner Martin Yoskovich testified that he pronounced Worry dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the face.

King was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and two counts of recklessly endangering another person. His bail was denied.

Makel did not call any witnesses Tuesday. He asked Pressacco if King is the father of the baby with which she’s currently pregnant. She said she was not sure.

As King left the courtroom, one of his family members called out, “Bye Anthony, love you.”

Both King and Worry have supporters calling for justice on Facebook. Some King supporters have donned T-shirts with “Free King” and “Self-defense,” while some mourning Worry’s death have donned “Justice for Spank” T-shirts.