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Collision in Turlock leads to arrest of murder suspect
Scott Williams
Scott Williams

A Riverbank man has been linked to the death of a woman whose body was found alongside an Oakdale Road early Saturday morning.

The link was made after the suspect, identified as Scott Williams, 21, was involved in an unrelated collision in Turlock and investigators found an apparent crime scene in his vehicle.

For the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, the case began shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday when they received a call reporting a possible injury accident in the area of the 7600 block of Rodden Road just outside the city of Oakdale. The report was for a single person down in the roadway with injuries. When first responders arrived on scene they found a woman who was dead and appeared to have been the victim of a violent encounter rather than a collision. The Stanislaus County Crimes Against Person Team was activated and responded to the scene to investigate.

The victim has been identified as Michelle Caton, 37. Her cause of death is still pending the autopsy results, said Stanislaus County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Joshua Clayton.

More information about the case came around 8 a.m. Saturday when the California Highway Patrol was dispatched to a vehicle collision on Highway 99 near the intersection of West Main Street in Turlock.

As officers were dealing with the collision, they discovered what appeared to be a crime scene in the vehicle Williams had been driving. The sheriff’s department said it specifically looked as if someone had been shot in the vehicle.

The physical evidence found at the collision linked to Caton and Williams was taken into custody.

Williams was subsequently arrested by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office for homicide. The California Highway Patrol also arrested Williams for the additional charges of driving under the influence, possession of a concealed loaded firearm and resisting arrest.

Williams is currently in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail without bail.