Pierce County woman murdered amid repeated calls for help featured on ‘48 Hours’
The story of a Pierce County woman who repeatedly called the police for help while her “dream romance” with a man spiraled out of control and led to her murder will be featured May 2 in an episode of CBS News’ true-crime series “48 Hours.”
“The Love Bombing of Gloria Choi” recounts the 33-year-old woman’s relationship with William “Billy” Rickman and its violent end. Correspondent Natalia Morales reports that Rickman initially showered his girlfriend with attention and convinced those around her that he was devoted.
But in the fall of 2021 the couple broke up, and Rickman, then 46, began to follow and harass Choi, according to court documents, and Choi obtained a domestic-violence no-contact order against him. Choi sought help from law enforcement in Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties while the harassment continued up to the night of her murder.
The 48 Hours episode includes an interview with Choi’s best friend, who says in a preview that Choi was passionate about her family and her young son. Morales also spoke with an eyewitness to Choi’s fatal shooting and the prosecutors who put Rickman in prison for the rest of his life.
Rickman was convicted in a jury trial of aggravated first-degree murder for following Choi from the hotel she worked at in Lakewood, running her off the road and then shooting her 10 times at close range.
Choi called the police multiple times in the days before the shooting, reporting that Rickman had followed her, broken into her truck and slashed one of her tires.
Based on the preview of the episode, CBS News’ look at Choi’s case appears to explore claims that Choi was failed by local law enforcement. A lawyer included in the sneak peek says Choi was deprived of help she was entitled to under the law.
“I do blame the police for not taking it seriously,” Choi’s friend, Brieanna Eberly, said in the preview.
Rickman was arrested in Humboldt County, California, five days after the Jan. 2, 2022 murder. He had criminal history in California, including two felonies and four misdemeanors from 1993 to 2009, including for domestic-violence offenses.
A lawsuit is ongoing against the Lakewood Police Department alleging the police knew Rickman posed an imminent threat to Choi and had violated a no-contact order multiple times but failed to arrest him. The city has denied that the police had direct knowledge that Choi was in immediate danger from her ex-boyfriend, and it denied that the police’s actions placed her in harm’s way.
The 48 Hours episode airs Saturday, May 2 at 10-11 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, and it will be available for streaming on Paramount+.
