DeEric Williams and Deundray Cottrell were in love from the moment they locked eyes on each other as teenagers.
asserted
they → lock → teenagers
The hunky duo met when they were just 17 and growing up in Gadsden, Alabama, and moved to Atlanta together to forge modeling careers.
Their good looks soon saw offers of photoshoots pour in, with the musclebound Williams, now 34, even posing as a sexy Santa Claus for one eye-catching set.
For a decade they were a perfectly balanced 'yin and yang', until they met Julian Morris, an equally handsome former US Marine from Dover, New Jersey, and brought him into their bed.
Just three years later, Cottrell, 31, was dead and their third wheel is now languishing in a jail cell charged with his murder in a sordid tale of sex and violence.
The power throuple's abrupt end came when Cottrell disappeared from a 2024 family Fourth of July party in Birmingham, Alabama.
asserted
Cottrell → meet → Birmingham
He was found dead two days later, strangled with electrical wire inside a dirty, abandoned shed with boarded-up windows.
asserted
He → find → windows
DeEric Williams, now 34, posed as a sexy Santa Claus for an eye-catching photoshoot after his boyfriend of 14 years was killed
Deundray Cottrell (left) and DeEric Williams (right) were lovers for a decade since they were 17, then met Julian Morris (center) and formed a throuple
Cottrell disappeared from a family Fourth of July party in 2024 in Birmingham, Alabama, and was found dead two days later, strangled with electrical wire
Suspicion quickly fell on Morris, whom Cottrell's family said was acting bizarrely the whole night while they frantically searched for his missing boyfriend.
asserted
they → pose → boyfriend
But there wasn't enough evidence to charge him and the case went unsolved.
asserted
case → be → him
For two years, life went on.
asserted
life → go → years
Morris refused to talk to detectives and cut off Williams along with Cottrell's family while continuing his career solo.
asserted
Morris → refuse → career
Despite being a person of interest, he had no shortage of work - showing off two magazine covers, and dozens of photoshoots and event gigs on his Instagram.
asserted
he → have → Instagram
That was until this week, when US Marshals arrested him in Miami as he was about to board a cruise ship.
asserted
he → arrest → ship
Investigators have yet to reveal what fresh evidence led them to finally arrest Morris but said they conducted new interviews in Atlanta and combed bodycam footage.
asserted
they → have → footage
Morris, who has long protested his innocence through lawyers, is being held without bail as he awaits extradition to Alabama.
asserted
he → protest → Alabama
They moved to Atlanta together to forge modeling careers
For a decade they were a perfectly balanced 'yin and yang' and their good looks soon saw offers of photoshoots pour in
The throuple formed SkiiBoyz Entertainment, which they billed as Atlanta's hottest male performance and event hosting trio, and business was booming
Those who insist Morris is guilty paint a disturbing picture of jealousy, manipulation, and petty drama tearing the polyamorous relationship apart.
asserted
Morris → move → relationship
But from the outside, the trio appeared to be thriving as they graced magazine covers, headlined events, and posted for sexually charged glamor photos as construction workers, ninja turtles, and 'alien superstars'.
asserted
they → appear → workers
They formed SkiiBoyz Entertainment, which they billed as Atlanta's hottest male performance and event hosting trio, and business was booming.
asserted
business → form → trio
Living and working together, the trio was rarely apart - except for the fateful trip to Birmingham that only Cottrell and Morris took.
asserted
Cottrell → live → that
'I wish I never let y'all go to Birmingham without me,' Williams, who is still haunted by his decision to skip the trip, wrote in his tribute after Cottrell's death.
asserted
who → wish → death
The pair arrived at Cottrell's sister Angelica Harris's house about 6pm and celebrated with the family for three hours until the fireworks started.
asserted
fireworks → arrive → hours
Cottrell went inside to check on his dog, worried the fireworks would spook it, and Morris followed him several minutes later.
asserted
Morris → go → him
Morris returned to the front yard alone about 10.15pm saying his boyfriend had jumped out a window, Cottrell's family told police.
asserted
family → return → police
This was even more odd because the windows in Harris' house didn't open.
asserted
windows → open → house
Morris then claimed he actually meant the balcony.
asserted
he → claim → balcony
Suspicion quickly fell on Morris, whom Cottrell's family said was acting bizarrely the whole night while they frantically searched for his missing boyfriend
Morris (center) refused to talk to detectives and cut off Williams (right) along with Cottrell's (left) family while continuing his career solo
US Marshals arrested Morris in Miami this week as he was about to board a cruise ship.
asserted
he → fall → ship
He is now in jail charged with Cottrell's murder
The entire party took off with flashlights in a desperate search, first on foot and then in their cars, shouting his name across the neighborhood.
asserted
party → charge → neighborhood
One of his shoes, his sunglasses, and his phone were found in the backyard and his hat was on a fence post just under the balcony, but there was no sign of him.
Doorbell cameras on neighboring homes caught him running through backyards and jumping over a gate as if fleeing someone, but no footage of Morris or anyone else in pursuit.
asserted
him → find → pursuit
All the while, Morris sat around eating and listening to music, only leaving the house to walk Cottrell's dog, Harris claimed at the time.
asserted
Harris → sit → time
'Julian ate while we searched, when we returned to our home, he had a plate, and suggested we should all eat.
uncertain
we → eat → plate
How could we while our loved one was missing?' she said.
uncertain
she → love → ?
Morris was supposed to sleep at Harris' house, but as his behavior grew more erratic they sent him to Cottrell's mother Therese's home when they paused the search at 1.30am.
asserted
they → suppose → 1.30am
'My older kids felt he was acting strange and wasn't comfortable with his presence.
asserted
he → feel → presence
Not assuming he had done any wrong, we thought it was best he went to my mom's house,' Harris explained earlier this year.
asserted
Harris → assume → house
Morris walked to the house after claiming he couldn't find his car keys, but returned over and over through the night despite police telling him to leave each time.
asserted
police → walk → him
Police eventually banned him from going back to the home under threat of trespassing charges.
asserted
Police → ban → charges
'My entire heart has been ripped out of my body,' Williams wrote in tribute to his slain lover
Until Cottrell died, the trio appeared to be thriving as they graced magazine covers, headlined events, and posed for sexually charged glamor photos
Cottrell's family claimed Morris's strange behavior included dancing and posing in the street as he talked with police, speaking in Spanish despite them never hearing him do so before, and hiding in a ditch when Harris' husband and sons approached him.
He told them Cottrell had taken his own life and and they were 'never going to find him', and gave conflicting accounts of where he last saw him, they claimed.
asserted
they → rip → him
The Birmingham Police Department made missing persons appeals and the family kept searching until his body was found on July 6, 2024.
asserted
body → make → July
'My entire heart has been ripped out of my body,' Williams wrote in tribute a day later.
asserted
Williams → rip → tribute
Then there was another problem - Morris had vanished, and police made urgent public appeals to find him as he was the last person to see Cottrell alive.
asserted
Cottrell → be → him
Four days later, police made another statement explaining Morris refused to speak to detectives and they couldn't force him to do so.
asserted
they → make → him
After his arrest, Morris issued a statement through his lawyer Victor Revill proclaiming his innocence and blasting 'false narratives.'
asserted
Morris → issue → narratives
Revill said Ring doorbell camera footage showed Cottrell running away the night he vanished, while Morris was at his home.
asserted
Morris → say → home
'We are disappointed that Mr Morris has been charged with this crime, but we look forward to putting forward a vigorous defense and bringing the truth to light,' Revill added.
asserted
Revill → disappoint → light
The Aporia
