Thursday February 14 5:52 PM ET Man Found Dead at Williams Estate ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - A limousine driver was found shot to death Thursday at the estate of former Nets star Jayson Williams, authorities said. Police classified the death as ``suspicious.'' Costas Christofi, 55, was found with a shotgun wound to his chest at 2:54 a.m. inside a bedroom in the home, about 30 miles northwest of Trenton, Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember said. Christofi had been hired by Williams to transport friends from a sporting event in Bethlehem, Pa., to a restaurant in Hunterdon County, and then to Williams' home. Williams, his brother Vincent and about 10 guests were in the home at the time of the shooting, Lember said. State police Sgt. Al Della Fave originally said the Harlem Globetrotters and a group of Lehigh students were at the house. However, Della Fave later said that was incorrect and neither group was present. The death was originally reported to authorities as a suicide. But after a preliminary investigation by the medical examiner, the prosecutor's office said Thursday it was being classified as a suspicious death. No one answered a call at Williams house Thursday afternoon. The 30,000-square-foot home, dubbed the ``Who Knew?'' estate by Williams and his friends, sits on 65 acres in a rural area. Williams, once one of the NBA's best rebounders, retired after a nine-year career cut short by leg injuries. His last game was April 1, 1999, when he broke his right leg and injured his right knee in a collision with Stephon Marbury. Williams averaged 7.3 points and 7.5 rebounds for his career. He played at St. John's and spent his first two NBA seasons with the 76ers. He was traded to the Nets in 1992. The 6-foot-10 center was an All-Star in 1997-98, when he averaged 13.4 points and 13.5 rebounds.
It was Professor Plum in the lounge with the revolver. No word on a motive yet. Man, I guess Jay can't joke about this one during an NBC halftime show.
He'll have to resort to dissing Bill Walton's stutter or Pao Gasol's slight figure again. Seriously though, the guy probably heard Jayson doing his TV routine and killled himself.
Now they think Jayson Williams was showboating around and the pistol went off, killing the limo driver. Charges haven't been ruled out, but they do think it was an accident. I doubt there will ever be any jokes about this on NBC.
SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! They think that Jayson Williams accidently did it himself? Oh crap. If it's true, imagine what Williams is going thru. Aw man. That sucks. It'll probably be pretty tense next halftime.
Oh man, this sucks. Jayson Williams seems to be a great guy, with a great life and a great sense of humor, and if this happens, going to jail for an accident like this is horrible. Even more horrible is that a guy lost his life. The guy may have had a long rap sheet (the guy who was killed), but it seemed like he was trying to turn his life around, and to have something like this happen. Just all-around crappy.
From http://msn.espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0215/1333315.html : ---------------------------- Police believe gun accidentally went off -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. -- Authorities have no immediate plans to arrest anyone in the fatal shooting of a man at basketball star Jayson William's estate, but might file charges in the future, a prosecutor said Saturday. Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember would not say who prosecutors believe was the shooter. He has said Williams, his brother Vincent and about 10 guests were in the house at the time. "I'm not prepared to state where we are in the investigation, in terms of who the shooter was," Lember said. "The fair thing to say is we have a pretty good idea of who that was, and we're trying to determine how that happened." The Star-Ledger of Newark, The Record of Hackensack and several broadcast stations said unidentified law enforcement sources told them Williams accidentally fired the gun. Those reports said Williams was playfully tinkering with a loaded shotgun while giving friends a tour of his home early Thursday when the weapon accidentally went off. Williams' agent, Sal DiFazio, said he had spoken with the former New Jersey Nets player and his lawyer since the shooting. DiFazio said he was aware of The Star-Ledger's article on Saturday and that it was "a very accurate portrayal of where everything is, as far as I know." He declined further comment and referred questions to Williams' lawyer, Joseph Hayden. Hayden has characterized Christofi's death as an "unfortunate accident." He said Williams was giving his guests a tour of his home when Christofi was shot. Hayden could not be reached for comment Saturday; no one answered the phone at his law firm. A message left at Williams' home was not immediately returned. Lember said that whether charges are filed would be his decision, and he needed to review police reports and transcripts of witness interviews, neither of which were finished Saturday. Authorities were called to Williams' 65-acre estate early Thursday and found limousine driver Costas Christofi, 55, in a bedroom with a shotgun wound to his chest. Authorities have said the shotgun appeared to be one of several owned by Williams, a former New Jersey Nets player. Investigators quickly ruled out suicide, and the death was classified as suspicious after a preliminary review by the medical examiner. Christofi, 55, of Washington Borough, had been hired by Williams to take friends from a charity sporting event featuring the Harlem Globetrotters in Bethlehem, Pa., to a restaurant, and then to Williams' home, about 30 miles northwest of Trenton. The 40-room mansion has an indoor pool, bowling alley and movie theater, as well as a skeet-shooting range and par 3 golf hole. The 6-foot-10 Williams was once among the NBA's best rebounders, but leg injuries ended his basketball career. He retired in 1999 and now works for NBC Sports as an NBA studio analyst.
