PHOENIX (Court TV) — A man faces less than four years in prison after pleading guilty to killing his girlfriend, but the sentence isn’t sitting right with the victim’s family, who delivered emotional pleas in court.
Jayden Frost sits in court on Oct. 20, 2026. (Pool/Court TV)
Jayden Frost, 21, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the death of Margaret Williams, 20. In court on Tuesday at the start of his sentencing hearing, Frost stipulated to the aggravating factor of causing emotional harm to the victim’s next of kin; that admission allows the judge to sentence him to as much as three years and nine months in prison.
Frost wasn’t charged for more than a year after the victim’s body was found, and he changed his story multiple times in conversations with the police. At first, he told investigators that he and the victim had gone to the baseball field together on Dec. 6, 2024, but that he left her there alone to charge his phone between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. He initially said that when he returned about an hour later, Williams was missing and he couldn’t find her. After calling a friend to come pick him up, Frost returned to the baseball fields early the next morning, where he found the victim on her back in the middle of the field. He described fighting off coyotes that were eating the victim’s body.
Eventually, he admitted that he and the victim had been at the baseball fields, where they had “rough” consensual sex, he said. He said that he only realized what had happened when “he opened his eyes and saw that foam was coming out of Margaret’s mouth. Jayden realized Margaret was deceased and became scared,” police wrote in an affidavit reviewed by Court TV. Frost then admitted to calling his friend and claiming he couldn’t find his girlfriend. The two then called 911 after they returned to the scene and found the animals surrounding Williams’ body.
Williams’ family spoke at sentencing, expressing disappointment with how Frost was charged. “This was not an accident or neglect,” said Danielle Williams, the victim’s stepmother. “This was an intentional act to take a life.”
Photos of Margaret Williams are shown in court on Oct. 20, 2026. (Pool/Court TV)
Margaret Williams’ father, Michael Williams, said he believed that Frost killed his daughter after finding out she planned to leave him. “Without a doubt, Jayden Frost committed the ultimate act of power and control over my daughter that night,” he said, noting that other women had accused Frost of choking them. “He already had plenty of experience with non-consensual strangulation attempts against women my daughter’s age and absolutely knew what he was doing.”
Curtis Williams, the victim’s brother, said that his sister had a hard start in life before she was adopted by his family. As an adult, she was nearly completely deaf and had behavioral issues. While Curtis Williams said he tries to remember the good times with his sister, the facts of her death — specifically that coyotes had eaten part of her body — haunt him. “Your Honor, I can’t stop picturing it,” he said. “I hate that this is what my mind does now. I’ll be thinking about a good memory of Maggie and then that image cuts in and takes over. That is what I live with now.”
Under Arizona law, negligent homicide is a probation-eligible offense, which means that Frost could be released on probation after the sentencing hearing concludes Friday. Williams’ family asked that Judge Patricia Starr sentence Frost to the maximum allowed sentence of 3 3/4 years.
