How a Durham man’s family got charged in a missing teen’s murder
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- Phillip Williams, 20, pleaded guilty to the murder of Semar Barbour, 19, in 2023.
- Barbour disappeared after visiting Williams to make music Oct. 23, 2023.
- Barbour’s body was found in his car in a Morrisville parking lot three weeks later.
A Durham man pleaded guilty Wednesday, March 4, to murdering a teenager he’d once called a friend — but with three of the man’s family members also charged, the case is far from resolved.
Phillip Williams, 20, was sentenced on a charge of second-degree murder in the Oct. 23, 2023, killing of Semar Barbour, 19, of Durham. They had known each other since they were young teens — something Williams acknowledged in court Wednesday.
“I’ve known most of y’all since I’ve known Semar,” Williams said as he faced at least six of Barbour’s family members. “I’ve been in the car with you, Mr. Barbour, and I’ve known you since I was, like, 14.”
But those bonds didn’t stop Williams from shooting Barbour seven times, including five times in the back, after inviting the 19-year-old over to Williams’ grandparents’ house to create music together, according to Assistant District Attorney Mary Jude Darrow.
And as Barbour’s family desperately searched for him for three weeks, Williams knew Barbour’s body was decomposing in the back seat of his own car in a Morrisville parking lot, Darrow said.
Timeline of events
Barbour’s sister, who was also Williams’ ex-girlfriend, dropped her brother off at Williams’ grandparents’ Delray Street house in South Durham about 5:30 p.m. that day, Darrow said. Barbour and Williams had fallen out at some point; search warrants state they rekindled their friendship in January 2023, and Darrow said they hoped making music together would heal their rift.
Yakir Ben Zion “Zion” Lee, 21, was also at the house that night, Darrow alleged. Text messages between Lee and Williams allegedly showed Williams saying he “had an idea” and that the idea was “a go” in the hours before Barbour’s death. Lee reportedly asked if Barbour carried a gun, which Williams said he did, according to Darrow.
Williams was living with his grandparents because he was on house arrest at the time, Darrow noted.
When Barbour never came home, his family contacted police the next day, according to Darrow. When they asked Williams where Barbour might be, he only provided “vague answers,” she said. Theodore Cash, Williams’ grandfather, told investigators he’d seen Barbour but didn’t notice him leaving.
As police and family members searched for Barbour, detectives noticed a Ring camera previously fixed to the Delray Street home was missing, Darrow said. The investigation came to a head when Barbour’s decomposed body was found in the back of his car in a Morrisville parking lot Nov. 13, 2023.
Digital evidence from Barbour’s car showed it had arrived at the Morrisville parking lot just before 8 p.m. Oct. 23 and stayed there until someone called 911 on Nov. 13, believing the person inside was asleep, search warrants show.
Cellphone records indicated Barbour’s phone died or was deactivated at 7:49 p.m. at the Delray Street home. Up until that point, its geographic location had been consistent with the path of his car as it traveled from Durham to Morrisville, search warrants state.
Detectives also found an Instagram video posted after Barbour went missing “with three subjects holding guns stating, ‘He broke the code and I zipped him this [expletive] used to be on side me,’’ according to a search warrant.
Family members charged
In April 2024, Durham police announced Phillip Williams and his uncle, Nakia Williams, had been arrested on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Barbour’s death. Phillip Williams’ grandparents, Theodore and Sheila Cash, were charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Lee’s arrest on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder came a week later.
Police haven’t shared why Phillip Williams’ family members are suspected of helping him kill Barbour or cover up the death, but Darrow said Wednesday that Sheila Cash bought first-aid supplies and helped to clean her grandson’s graze wound from killing Barbour, while Theodore Cash attempted to clean up the crime scene.
Investigators would discover two layers of nailed-down rugs in Phillip Williams’ bedroom in a December 2023 search. When officers removed the rugs, they found a red stain that tested positive for Barbour’s blood, according to Darrow.
“The carpet surrounding the stain appeared to have been cut out and there was an expended projectile laying on yellow carpet in the area of the blood stain,” a search warrant in the case states.
Lee pleaded guilty March 19 to concealment of a death. He was sentenced to a minimum of five months and a maximum of a year and three months in prison as part of a plea arrangement.
The charges against the Cashes and Nakia Williams remained pending as of Thursday, March 5.
‘I’m very sorry’
Clad in a hoodie featuring pictures of Barbour and the phrase “Forever Semar,” Barbour’s father was surrounded in court by a handful of family members, including several of Barbour’s siblings. His oldest sister, Sheana Cobb, sobbed as she read her victim impact statement to Judge John Dunlow.
“Where’s the morals in the situation?” she asked. “They just dropped him off in a parking lot, left him to rot. And that’s not fair to him.”
Loved ones spoke of Barbour’s chivalrous nature and dedication, noting he’d already achieved his dream of becoming a barber after graduating from Durham’s Southern High School. The 19-year-old didn’t deserve such cruelty, they said.
That was a sentiment Damon Chetson, Phillip Williams’ defense attorney, couldn’t argue with.
“For him to be left in a car for weeks is just egregious,” Chetson said.
His client hoped to address some mental health concerns in prison and train in culinary arts in preparation for as peaceful a life as possible after his release, according to Chetson. He’d accepted responsibility for killing Barbour, Chetson said.
“He dragged his entire family into this ... for which he is incredibly sad and remorseful,” he said.
Before Dunlow sentenced him to the agreed-upon minimum of 23 years and maximum of 28 years and eight months in prison, Phillip Williams stood and faced Barbour’s family, whose muffled sobs rippled throughout the courtroom as Williams spoke.
“I’m very sorry for everything that has happened,” he said. “I really didn’t mean to hurt your brother. I’m sorry.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
