Police say the woman died at a hospital after officers found her wounded Friday afternoon.
LOCKPORT, NY — A 21-year-old Lockport man has been charged with second-degree murder after a woman was stabbed Friday afternoon on Genesee Street and later died at Lockport Memorial Hospital, police said.
The charge came less than a day after Lockport police answered a report of a stabbing near 263 Genesee St. and began searching for Isaiah Williams for questioning. By Saturday, authorities said New York State Police had found Williams in Pendleton and turned him over to Lockport police. The arrest moved the case from an urgent street-by-street search to a homicide prosecution, even as key details, including the victim’s name and the events that led to the stabbing, had not yet been released publicly.
Police said officers were sent to the 200 block of Genesee Street shortly after 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 13. At the scene, they found a woman with what officers described as an apparent stab wound. Emergency crews took her to Lockport Memorial Hospital, where she later died. In the first hours after the stabbing, police said they were trying to identify and locate a man connected to the case and asked the public for information. By Saturday, investigators said that man was Williams, 21, of Lockport. Authorities said state police located him in Pendleton, a town south of Lockport in Niagara County, and transferred him to Lockport police custody. Police then charged him with second-degree murder. The department said Williams was being held pending arraignment in Lockport City Court.
The public record on Saturday remained narrow but clear on several points. Police fixed the location at about 263 Genesee St., a stretch of roadway in the city of Lockport, and placed the initial emergency call in midafternoon. They said the victim was a woman and that she was alive when officers reached her, but badly injured. They did not say how many times she was stabbed, whether officers recovered a weapon, or whether the victim and suspect knew each other. They also had not publicly released the woman’s identity, a step police often delay while relatives are notified. Just as important, investigators had not described a motive or said whether any witnesses saw the attack. What is known is that police treated the case as a fast-moving homicide inquiry, asked for help early, and then announced a suspect was in custody by the next day.
The case adds to the city’s recent run of violent crime investigations that have drawn close attention in Niagara County, where Lockport serves as the county seat and a hub for local courts, police activity and emergency response. A homicide charge in a street stabbing also puts focus on how quickly such cases can develop. In this instance, the known timeline spans less than 24 hours from the first report of the attack to the arrest announcement. That speed can matter in a case built around witness accounts, surveillance footage, forensic evidence and the movements of a suspect after the assault. Yet the pace of an arrest does not answer the larger questions that still shape public understanding of the case: why the stabbing happened, what relationship, if any, existed between the people involved, and what evidence investigators believe will support a murder prosecution in court.
Second-degree murder is among the most serious charges under New York law, but the court process was only beginning Saturday. Police said Williams was being held pending arraignment in Lockport City Court, where a judge is expected to formally advise him of the charge and address custody. Prosecutors may later present the case to a grand jury if they seek an indictment, and investigators can continue gathering evidence after an arrest. That can include medical findings, interviews, video, phone records and forensic testing. It was not yet clear Saturday whether Williams had retained a lawyer, whether prosecutors would outline a theory of the case at arraignment, or when additional court filings might become public. The next immediate milestone is the arraignment, which should provide the first formal courtroom account of the accusation and any initial position from the defense.
On Genesee Street, the known facts leave a stark scene: a woman wounded in broad daylight, a rush to the hospital, and a homicide investigation that quickly widened beyond Lockport before ending with an arrest in Pendleton. Police statements so far have been brief and tightly focused on the timeline, the charge and the suspect’s custody status. That limited release of information is common in the early phase of a violent crime case, when investigators are still sorting witness statements and preserving evidence. For neighbors and family members, though, the unanswered details can be the hardest part. By Saturday evening, officials had drawn the basic outline of what happened and who is accused, but the identity of the woman who died and the account of her final hours still had not been made public.
As of Saturday, March 14, Williams remained in custody on the second-degree murder charge, and the case was headed next to Lockport City Court for arraignment. Police had not yet publicly identified the victim or released a fuller narrative of the stabbing.
Author note: Last updated March 14, 2026.