The Murder Tapes investigate the beating to death of William Gray by Shanadore Rice

The Murder Tapes is investigating the cruel murder of William Gray in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by Shanadore Rice, who beat Gray to death before dumping his body on a back porch in Detroit.

On December 30, 2017, the police in Kalamazoo received information that William Gray had been murdered in his home. When officers arrived at Gray’s house, they found a bloody scene in the living room and more blood in the basement. There had been an attempt to clean up the scene.

However, there was no sign of the 69-year-old William Gray, or anybody else. The officers immediately issued a missing person report declaring that Gray had disappeared in mysterious circumstances.

The police learned through various interviews that Gray had gotten into an altercation with his girlfriend and Shanadore Rice. They also learned that Rice had taken Gray’s car and was last seen heading towards Detroit.

The police caught a break when Rice checked himself into a medical facility in Detroit and left Gray’s car in the parking lot. A search of the vehicle led to a discovery of a bloodstain in the trunk along with some bloody paint cans.

Shanadore Rice confessed to murdering William Gray

When the police were finally able to get Rice into an interview room, he confessed to the murder. He admitted to assaulting Gray in his home and beating him to death with a table leg and some paint cans.

Rice then explained to the investigators that he had stripped and bound Gray before wrapping him up in a sheet. He then put the body in the trunk of Gray’s car and drove to Detroit, where he dumped the remains under the back porch of an abandoned house.

In August 2018, Rice pleaded guilty but accused Australia Willhite of ordering the killing. Willhite was subsequently charged with murder; however, she was not convicted. She was found guilty of helping to cover up the murder and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Rice is currently in prison, serving a 20 to 50-year sentence. In 2019, he requested that his guilty plea be withdrawn and claimed he had inadequate legal counsel. A judge refused his request.

More from The Murder Tapes

Follow the links to read about more crimes profiled on The Murder Tapes.

Carl Knight attacked and murdered Karen Simek as she made her way to work early one morning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Knight then stole her purse and fled the scene. He later told officers that he needed money for rent.

Previously, The Murder Tapes looked at the tragic case of 16-year-old Jeffrey Franklin, who was callously murdered by his adopted parents Ernest and Heather Franklin. The depraved parents tried to hide the killing of the disabled child by setting fire to their home.

The Murder Tapes air at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.