Man pleads guilty in murder of Memphis pastor

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The man charged in the shooting death of a popular Memphis pastor pleaded guilty to her murder Tuesday and will be extradited back to his native Honduras, according to a spokesman for the Shelby County District Attorney's Office.

Eduard Rodriguez Tabora pleaded guilty Tuesday to the premeditated murder of Reverend Autura Eason Williams, who was killed in her driveway during a carjacking attempt in 2022.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Tennessee Department of Corrections and his records have been turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation to his native Honduras, according to a spokesman for the Shelby County District Attorney's Office.

Tabora's trial was scheduled to begin on September 30, 2024. On July 16, 2024, attorneys filed a motion in court asking the judge to appoint a jury from Davidson County, citing local media coverage of the case. During a hearing on August 20, the judge denied that motion, court records show.

Tabora was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated robbery. Shelby County Attorney General Steve Mulroy said the first count of first-degree murder involves intentional homicide, while the second involves killing Eason-Williams during a robbery.

During a hearing on April 22, Tabora testified and said he had turned down a plea bargain. His lawyer said the deal would have meant Tabora could be released after serving the 60-year sentence. If convicted, he faces life in prison for murder.

According to court records, Tabora remains behind bars on $1 million bail.

The state told the court it would present evidence at trial, including a confession from Tabora, video evidence and testimony from two teenagers charged in the case.

One of those youths, Miguel Andrade, who was 15 at the time of his arrest and was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty in court on February 1, 2024, to second-degree murder of Dr. Eason-Williams and auto theft in another crime that occurred the same day as the murder. He was sentenced to 20 years for the murder and eight years for the auto theft, for a total of 28 years in prison.

A 17-year-old charged in the case entered into a plea deal in January and was placed in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children Services until he turns 19. Prosecutors said the boy has admitted to criminal conduct, including premeditated murder.

Dr. Eason-Williams, district leader of the Metro District of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church, was shot and killed during a carjacking in the driveway of her home on Whitehaven Lane on July 18, 2022.

According to a police affidavit, Tabora admitted to investigators that he was with the two teens when Eason-Williams was killed and that they stole her Infiniti. ABC24 previously learned that Andrade was wearing an ankle bracelet at the time of the pastor's murder.