Man accused of killing 65-year-old North Palm Springs woman pleads not guilty

A felon accused of killing a 65-year-old North Palm  Springs woman with a machete pleaded not guilty today to murder and other charges.

David Earl Williams Jr., 29, is charged with killing Robin Patricia Barr, whose body was recovered early Wednesday morning in the open desert northwest of Varner Road and Palm Drive.

Williams was arraigned at the Banning Justice Center before Riverside  County Superior Court Judge Alfonso Fernandez, who set the defendant's bail at $2 million and scheduled a felony settlement conference for March 8 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Williams is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

Along with murder, Williams is charged with one count of attempted  murder for allegedly attacking another person on or  about Feb. 17.

Authorities have not released any details about that alleged crime.

He additionally faces sentence-enhancing allegations of using a weapon  -- a machete -- during the commission of a murder, and committing crimes  while on post-release community supervision stemming from a case in which he pleaded guilty to felony evading and vehicle theft charges last March.

Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Rick Espinoza said deputies were sent on Feb. 18 to the 64000 block of Vermillion Road in the unincorporated community of North Palm Springs on a "suspicious circumstance call'' and discovered the victim missing.

He said homicide investigators assumed the investigation due to the "nature of the circumstances,'' but did not elaborate.

Sheriff's officials announced Monday that Barr was presumed dead, and  that Williams was suspected of killing her. Jail records show he had been  behind bars since Feb. 19, when he was taken into custody in the area of  Vermillion Drive in North Palm Springs on suspicion of violating the terms of his post-release community supervision.

In the case last year, Williams was sentenced to eight months in state  prison after striking a plea deal with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, according to D.A.'s office spokesman John Hall. It remains  unclear, given the coronavirus pandemic, how much time he actually served.

He has additional felony convictions in Riverside County for burglary and spousal abuse, court records show.