The brother of a murdered Texas woman calls his sister a special person

TYLER, Texas – After months of waiting for an investigation and trial, Paula Belonga's brother said Thursday he was glad justice was served when jurors reached a guilty verdict in her murder.

Jesse Lee Williams, 41, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Belonga, 51. She was last seen leaving her apartment complex in Tyler on April 7, 2023, and her body has not yet been found. Williams must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.

After the verdict, Belonga's brother Robert Baldinell said he was relieved the case was closed.

“There's a satisfaction that comes with that – just knowing that we're at this point now. We can start to put this behind us and move forward,” Baldinell said.

He hopes to gather with family and friends soon to reminisce and keep their memories in a good light.

Baldinell said his sister was full of laughter, love and sass, qualities that made her the special person she was.

“She didn’t know a stranger,” he said. “Her personality was infectious. We'll just miss her. I mean, she's quite a loss. Of course, throughout my life with her, she was just someone we could always rely on and she provided us with endless hours of entertainment.”

If he could say anything to his sister, Baldinell said, it would be, “I miss you.”

He recalled originally calling in April 2023 that she was missing, and months later learning it was a murder investigation.

Although he was grateful to see the verdict, Baldinell said the grieving process was difficult without having a body to mourn.

“The hardest thing was that without actually having her physically, you can never have the finality that comes with someone dying and being able to put them to rest. And that's why we did our best by building a monument,” he said. “And of course a lot of our friends and family came and we were able to celebrate this way.”

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