In the early morning hours of March 12th, 40-year-old William Harris was in an apartment in the 300 block of South 9th Street. He noticed another 40-year-old man looking at pornography on a computer. It appeared to William to be child pornography. He decided to say something about it to the man. This led to an argument that soon got physical. The other man stomped and kicked William. He choked him with his own coat. At some point in the fight, the apartment door came off its hinges. A neighbor heard the commotion and stepped into the hallway to investigate, finding the other man covered in blood. The man lunged at the neighbor who then pepper sprayed him.
When police arrived around 1am, they found the other man speaking incoherently and standing over Harris who was not breathing. Police administered CPR. William was taken to St. Joseph’s hospital where he was pronounced dead.
William is the fourth Tacoma homicide this year. He was homeless at the time of his death. I was unable to find out much information about him quite frankly because he has a very common name. I wish I had more information to share because one of the purposes of this site is to give a fuller picture of the person this city has lost. Every death matters. When that death is the cause of someone else’s senseless actions, it is all the more terrible.
As always the comments section is moderated and reserved for those who knew William to share thoughts or memories. Also if someone who knew William wants to provide a photo of him for this post, I’ll be happy to include that.
– Jack Cameron
tacomastories.com 
Rest in peace. Prayers go out to family.
Hello, William Harris Jr. was my nephew. He comes from a LARGE loving family from Milwaukee WI. We called him Tray, he was a 3rd. Named after his dad, who was my brother, and my Father, Who all suffered from heart disease. It is hereditary. He also suffered with mental health issues seemingly his whole life but I believe he was self medicating to cope and not following his doctors prescribe recommendation for treatment which common behavior for Mental health patients. Never the less, Tray did not deserve to die in this manner. No ones Life, especially a victim of Mental Health should be brushed under the rug as the ME changed his cause of death from 2nd degree homicide to him having a heart attack due to meth. usage. Bull #$$$#. The state never contacted family to inform us of his death. They just cremated him. No farewell, no see you later, no claiming his body, no God Bless you, Go be with Jesus, NOTHING!!!! I’m so hurt about the outcome of this case I’m literally wiping tears off my computer. OUR LIVES MATTER!!!!. ALL OF OUR LIVES. The Perpetrator, Ben C. Carter whom I suspect self medicates himself with illegal drugs ALSO, if not treated will commit another act of violence. Please treat individuals with mental heath better AMERICA!. Please deliver justice fairly WASHINGTON STATE!!!. Yes editor, William had a family, he had a history, he was loved, and he will be missed. I have a picture of him on my facebook account but I have no idea how to send it (I’m not facebook friendly by choice)