Sheriff Paul Burch said the victims were bound in separate rooms before they were killed.

MOBILE, Ala. — A 54-year-old Wilmer man has been charged with eight counts of capital murder after a mother, her pregnant teenage daughter and her 12-year-old son were found bound and killed inside their Mobile County home.

William Graham Oliver was arrested April 28, more than a week after deputies found 46-year-old Lisa Gail Fields, 17-year-old Keziah Arionna Luker and Thomas Cordelle Jr. dead at a home on Auble Moody Road. Luker was about eight months pregnant, and her unborn child also died. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said investigators believe Oliver knew the family and was inside the home the night before the bodies were found.

The case began in the early morning hours of April 20, when a family member went to the Wilmer house after Luker’s partner could not reach her. Burch said the partner, who was working offshore, noticed activity on a phone or location app at a time that worried him and asked someone to check on the family. The family member arrived around 2:30 a.m. and found a scene the sheriff later called “brutal.” Deputies said the three victims were in separate rooms, with their hands bound behind them with zip ties or flex cuffs. An 18-month-old child, Luker’s daughter, was found alive and unharmed inside the home.

Authorities said Fields had been stabbed and had her throat cut. Luker had been shot. Thomas had a deep cut to his throat. Burch said each killing appeared to have been carried out in a different way, a detail that first led investigators to consider whether more than one person was involved. After the arrest, Burch said investigators believed Oliver acted alone. “At this point we believe he’s solely responsible for the murders,” Burch said. He also said the home had been left in disarray and that investigators believed Oliver had been looking for something inside it. The sheriff said authorities know what Oliver was searching for and believe they know the motive, but he declined to release those details because the case is pending.

Oliver faces one count of capital murder of two or more people, four counts of capital murder during a burglary, two counts of capital murder involving a child younger than 14 and one count of capital murder in the presence of a child. Officials said two charges relate to the death of Luker’s unborn child. Burch said the involvement of children made the case especially difficult for investigators. “Anytime there are children involved, it makes it a little tougher and especially an unborn child,” he said. Jail records cited in local reports show Oliver had prior arrests in Mobile County dating back decades, including burglary-related cases and a 2020 theft charge. Burch said the capital murder charges appeared to be his first violent charges.

Investigators focused on a narrow period between the evening of April 19 and the welfare check early April 20. Burch said Oliver had been at the home around 7:30 p.m. on April 19. He called the timeline “very, very tight” and said the evidence was circumstantial but strong. Deputies later executed a search warrant at Oliver’s home, which authorities said was a few miles from the crime scene. Investigators removed a vehicle and other items described as supporting evidence. Oliver was arrested during a traffic stop the same day the warrant was carried out. The sheriff said community tips also helped investigators move the case from a search for leads to an arrest.

The killings shook Wilmer, a rural community northwest of Mobile where many families know one another through schools, churches and local work. A neighbor of Oliver told a local television station that he watched SWAT officers arrive and could not believe the search was connected to the triple killing. The neighbor described Oliver as a handyman and father, and said the arrest stunned people who knew him. At the same time, relatives of the victims said Fields had opened her home to people and was devoted to her children. Family members described Luker as outgoing and excited about the birth of another daughter, and Thomas as a child who loved games, music and math.

Funeral plans for the three victims brought the investigation’s timeline into the same week as the family’s public mourning. Obituaries described Fields as loving and generous, Luker as spirited and affectionate, and Thomas as a “pure soul” who was eager to move beyond elementary school. The surviving toddler became one of the most painful facts of the case for relatives and investigators alike. Authorities have not said whether the child saw or heard the killings. The capital murder count alleging murder in the presence of a child shows prosecutors believe the toddler’s presence will be part of the case. Officials have not released the full charging documents, and the public record does not yet show a trial date.

The case also changed how investigators described the crime. In the first days after the bodies were found, Burch said the bindings, separate rooms and level of violence made it seem possible that multiple attackers entered the house. He also said the case did not appear to be a domestic dispute. After Oliver’s arrest, the sheriff said evidence pointed to one suspect who knew the family and had a reason to search the home. Officials have not said whether anything was taken, whether a weapon was recovered or whether DNA, fingerprints, video or phone records are part of the evidence. Those unknowns are likely to shape the next phase of the capital case.

Oliver remained jailed after his arrest, accused but not convicted. Prosecutors are expected to carry the case through Mobile County courts as investigators continue to process evidence from the home, Oliver’s property and the recovered items. As of May 10, the sheriff’s office had announced the arrest but had not publicly released the alleged motive or the full evidence list.

Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.