William Carey Jr., 46, of Perkiomen Township. (Credit: Montgomery County DA)
Victim’s mother confronts convicted killer William Roy Carey Jr. in court, calls loss “pain I have to live with for the rest of my life"
A Montgomery County jury needed less than two hours Thursday to convict William Roy Carey Jr. of first-degree murder for the brutal 2024 hammer killing of his girlfriend, 34-year-old Jessica Zipkin, inside his Perkiomen Township apartment, according to The Mercury.
Carey, 47, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Judge Wendy G. Rothstein immediately imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison.
“You viciously killed Jessica Zipkin. There’s no justification for that conduct. The brutality, it’s just hard to even describe,” Rothstein told Carey in court, according to the newspaper.
Zipkin’s mother, Jeanette Weiss, delivered a tearful victim impact statement, turning to face Carey directly.
“Billy, you shattered my life. You murdered my baby. You took her away from me. I miss her so, so much,” she said, adding, “You took away a beautiful human being. That is pain what I have to live with for the rest of my life.”
At one point, according to The Mercury, Weiss pleaded with Carey: “Look at me Billy, I’m talking to you. I need your attention now please.”
Prosecutors argued Carey struck Zipkin in the head at least 20 times with a hammer during a domestic dispute on Nov. 1, 2024. Assistant District Attorney Kelly S. Lloyd described him as “a cold-blooded murderer,” telling jurors: “Every strike with the hammer, every blow to the head, every crack to the skull…he knew exactly what he was doing.”
Defense attorneys Joseph Schultz and Scott Frank Frame claimed Carey was under the influence of methamphetamine and too impaired to form the intent required for first-degree murder. They asked jurors to consider a lesser third-degree murder charge, but the panel rejected that argument.
Investigators testified Carey attempted to conceal the crime by showering, changing clothes, and discarding blood-stained items. In a recorded jail call weeks later, according to the report, Carey remarked to a friend, “I heard her take her last breath … It is what it is.”
Deputy District Attorney Lloyd told The Mercury after the verdict that justice was served: “It was such a brutal killing. We are just so pleased that we got justice for Jessica today.”
Zipkin, remembered by her family as “kind, sweet and compassionate,” is survived by her parents, sister, and brother.
Carey is the brother of Kyle Carey, 41, of Lower Pottsgrove, who was convicted during a trial in July of charges he supplied alcohol and marijuana to a 15-year-old girl and then sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions in Lower Pottsgrove and Upper Frederick townships, according to The Mercury. Kyle Carey is in jail while awaiting a sentencing hearing later this year, per the newspaper.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
