Flags around the state were lowered to half-staff in his honor and a public viewing was scheduled at his alma mater. The mourning of murdered corrections officer Eric Williams gripped the area Wednesday as his grieving family spent the sad day making funeral arrangements for the Nanticoke man.
"I am really overwhelmed by all of these gestures people are making. All the remembrances and honors for my son lets me feel like once again there is a sense of community," Officer Williams' father, Donald, said Wednesday evening in a phone call. "I want to thank the public. Their response is wonderful."
Officer Williams, 34, was beaten and stabbed repeatedly at U.S. Penitentiary at Canaan in Wayne County on Monday night as he was preparing to lock inmates in their cells for a nightly head count. An autopsy determined he died from blunt-force trauma to the head and neck and bleeding caused by multiple stab wounds, officials said.
Prison officials said in a statement that staff members later detained the inmate, who has yet to be identified. The FBI continues to investigate Officer Williams' murder, and charges have yet to be filed.
A public viewing for Officer Williams is scheduled for Friday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., in the gymnasium of Greater Nanticoke Area High School, 425 Kosciuszko St., Nanticoke. Officer Williams graduated from the school in 1996.
"We are expecting a large crowd of law enforcement and members of the community. The school district is there for the community, and we thought it would be nice to open our doors to accommodate the expected large crowd," said school board President Ryan Verazin, who worked with Officer Williams at the Wegmans grocery chain for several years prior.
Officer Williams' funeral is slated for Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Faustina Kowalska Parish - the former Holy Trinity Church - at 520 S. Hanover St., Nanticoke. Interment will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, South Main Street, Hanover Twp.
On Wednesday, Officer Williams' union established a memorial fund to assist his loved ones, and family established a scholarship fund to help those who seek to follow his footsteps into law enforcement.
After working in security at Wegmans and as a police officer in Jefferson Twp., Officer Williams became a corrections officer on Sept. 11, 2011.
Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday ordered all Pennsylvania flags in the Capitol and at commonwealth facilities in Luzerne County to fly at half-staff until funeral services are complete.
Union officials say Officer Williams - who would have been equipped with only a radio, keys and handcuffs - was working alone in a unit housing about 130 inmates and was preparing to lock them into their cells when he was attacked.
JIM HALPIN, staff writer, contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizenvoice.com, @cvbobkal on Twitter