- Billy and Gloria had only been dating for a few weeks, but she fell madly in love with him
- Despite Gloria’s parents’ disapproval of their relationship, she soon moved in with Billy… However, it didn’t take long before Billy showed Gloria his true violent colours
- After months of torment at the hands of Billy, Gloria finally decided to leave him and move on with her life, but it came with a costly price
Gloria Choi could hardly wipe the grin from her face as she looked at her phone.
It was June 2021, and her boyfriend, Billy, had sent yet another romantic text to brighten her day.
Your the light to my day every day… I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us. My heart is yours, he gushed.
The two had only been dating a few weeks, after Billy was a guest at the hotel Gloria managed for her parents, but she’d fallen head over heels.
A single mum to a young son, Gloria worked hard to make her parents proud. And now, after all the long hours she’d poured into the business, she was making time to enjoy herself, as Billy doted on her.
It wasn’t just sweet texts – Billy was showering her with gifts too.
But, most importantly, he’d quickly developed a deep bond with her son – the most important person in Gloria’s world.
READ MORE: Jealous husband chops off wife’s hands over text message
Sadly though, not everyone was as smitten about their relationship.
When Billy moved into Gloria’s apartment at the hotel, her mum and dad were unimpressed.
Billy confronted them, telling her parents he was here to stay. But things didn’t go to plan when they gave Gloria an ultimatum – she could choose to stay with them or her new beau.
Choosing love, Gloria and her son moved out with Billy, leaving behind the job she’d given everything to.
When Gloria began working as manager at a local Holiday Inn, her heartbroken parents sold their business.
But, in time, Billy’s true colours came out when he began drinking excessively.
Unemployed, he also relied on Gloria to pay for everything.
Gloria was deeply unhappy, confiding in her friend Brieanna about the realities of the relationship, including how Billy had even become physical, sometimes pushing her around.
But scared of how he might react if she broke things off, Gloria wanted to tread carefully.
When Gloria discovered an Apple AirTag on her Ford Ranger, she realised Billy was tracking her.
That November, six months after she met Billy, Gloria left, moving back in with her relieved parents.
READ MORE: Evil ex-boyfriend: He stabbed her 18 times as she begged him to leave
But cutting ties altogether wasn’t easy. Billy had borrowed her car and refused to give it back.
Going to police, they issued a no contact order and Gloria’s vehicle was returned to her.
But when Billy began turning up everywhere Gloria went – cafes and local shops – it was clear he was still stalking her, desperate to win her back.
In December Gloria and her workmate Jacob went for coffee. They were at a table when she received an email from Billy.
You left me for another guy, he wrote.
‘You left me for another guy.’
Was it possible he was watching them right at that moment? As the pair moved on to a sushi restaurant, Gloria spotted the headlights of a car pointing straight at them through the window.
Sure Billy had followed her again, Gloria headed outside.
There was no sign of her ex, but Gloria discovered her car had been broken into, computers stolen from inside and the tyres slashed.
Back at the car park of the hotel where they both worked, they found the same happened to Jacob’s.
Jacob replaced the tyres, but found those too had been punctured the very next day.
Reviewing video surveillance footage, Gloria was sure she recognised Billy by his distinctive walk, but unable to see his face, police said it wasn’t enough evidence to go by.
Just two days later, Gloria was on the way home from work when an oncoming car smashed into hers, pinning her against a telegraph pole.
‘I don’t know where I am… I’m scared to get out of my car.’
Sobbing, Gloria rang emergency services.
‘I don’t know where I am… I’m scared to get out of my car,’ she panicked. ‘He’s got a gun.’
The dispatcher heard multiple shots fired, as Gloria screamed, before the line went chillingly silent.
When police arrived Gloria was slumped over her steering wheel.
Tragically she died from her injuries.
READ MORE: Man kills partner because he was ‘jealous’ of their newborn
An autopsy revealed she’d been shot 10 times in the back and the arm. Police discovered 14 bullet holes in Gloria’s car and retrieved 12 bullet casings from the scene.
Police records showed Gloria and her friends had called for help multiple times to report Billy violating the no contact order, so why wasn’t he stopped? He’d stalked her, called and texted continually, even confronting her in a car park with her son.
Now, Gloria was dead.
As her family reeled at the horrific loss, police launched a manhunt. But Billy eluded them.
Five days later he was located interstate, and arrested for murder.
In November 2023, William Lee Rickman, 48, pleaded not guilty at Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Washington.
During the trial, the court heard Rickman had criminal history from 1993 to 2009, including domestic violence offences.
Prosecutors explained that on the night of the murder, Rickman ran Gloria’s car off the road, and fired bullets through the door and window.
As the call to emergency services was played, the court heard that, during Gloria’s final moments, she’d desperately called out for her mum.
Still, it wasn’t enough to stop Rickman.
After driving away, he circled back, shooting five more rounds into Gloria’s car from his own vehicle.
Gloria’s friend Brieanna, told the court, ‘Billy didn’t just take Gloria’s physical life. Billy took everything. He took a daughter, a mother, a friend, a sister, a cousin.’
The jury took just two hours to convict Rickman of aggravated murder.
It seemed, driven by jealousy, he’d taken Gloria’s life so no-one else could have her.
In December, Judge Edmund Murphy sentenced Rickman to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
‘She should still be here. She should be raising her son. She should be with her parents,’ Brieanna said to NBC.
