Confession could solve Shawnee mystery

SHAWNEE — A man confessed this week to a homicide that had been a cold case for nearly eight years, authorities said.

Matthew Lee Williams, 24, of Shawnee was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Pottawatomie County jail on a first-degree murder complaint, authorities said. He has not been formally charged.

He told authorities he killed Rex Treat Jr., 20, of Shawnee, police spokesman Dan Shumaker said. Treat’s body was found June 21, 2001, in an alley near his childhood home.

Treat died after being struck in the head, a medical examiner’s report said.

Police Cpl. Greg Gibson said Williams told him he wanted to get the killing off his conscience.

Shumaker said Williams told police he met Treat at a party, and as the two were walking to Treat’s house, they got in an argument.

"A lot of what he’s saying matches up with the crime scene,” Shumaker said.

Shumaker said the case had gone cold because there was little physical evidence and few leads on potential witnesses. He said he doesn’t think Williams was questioned in the initial investigation.

Shumaker said investigators will have to obtain evidence to corroborate his story.

Williams was released from prison two weeks ago on a three-year sentence for burglary and assaulting a police officer.