An Alabama man has been charged with eight counts of capital murder more than a week after a mother and her two children were found dead in their home.

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that 54-year-old William Graham Oliver was arrested in connection to the deaths of 46-year-old Lisa Fields and her two children: 17-year-old Keziah Luker, who was pregnant, and 12-year-old Thomas Cordelle Jr.

Oliver is charged with one count of capital murder of two or more persons, four counts of capital murder during a burglary, two counts of capital murder of a child younger than 14 years old and one count of capital murder in the presence of a child.

“Anytime there are children involved, it makes it a little tougher and especially an unborn child,” Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said.

William Graham Oliver, 54, is charged with eight counts of capital murder in connection to the deaths of a mother and her two children.(Mobile County Metro Jail)

The three victims were found dead April 20, each in a different room of their Wilmer home. All of them had their hands bound behind them with zip ties or flex cuffs, according to Burch.

Burch says Fields’ throat was cut, and she was stabbed. He says Luker was shot, and her brother’s throat was cut. Luker’s 1-year-old daughter was found unharmed in the home.

The sheriff says Oliver had known the family for quite some time and was inside their home looking for something on the night of April 19.

“He was at the home, 7:30-ish Sunday night. Very, very tight timeline. Very solid circumstantial evidence at this point, and we feel confident that we have the right man,” Burch said.

Lisa Fields, 46, and her two children – 17-year-old Keziah Luker, who was pregnant, and 12-year-old Thomas Cordelle Jr. – were found dead April 20 in their home.(Courtesy family)

He says investigators know what Oliver was looking for and his motive, but he doesn’t want to get into that at this time.

Oliver has a criminal history, but Burch says this is the first time charges against him are violent. The sheriff says this goes to show you never truly know what someone is capable of.

Jail records show Oliver was charged with first-degree theft of property in 2020, with other arrests dating back to 1990.

Remembering the victims

As family, friends and community members prepare to attend the three victims’ funerals on Wednesday, online obituaries paint a picture of who they were.

Fields was described as “an angel walking among us” and “the most giving, loving person who dedicated her life to her children.”

“She was the best part of so many people’s lives. We are lucky to have known her,” her obituary read.

Luker was described as someone who was outgoing and spontaneous, always had a word of love and wanted to be a nurse. A close family friend says she was excited to welcome her second baby girl.

“Her legacy is a legacy of love, loyalty, perseverance, and happiness,” her obituary read.

Cordelle was described as “a pure soul” who loved games, music and math. He was in the fifth grade and “couldn’t wait” to get out of elementary school.

THIS IS NO COINCIDENCE — AND THE RECORDS PROVE IT — Investigators say the case involving Lisa Gail Fields, Keziah Luker, and Thomas Cordelle Jr. took a turn after they confirmed a previous connection… and internal logs show his name written on two separate lines, each with a different date next to it

The investigative focus on the timeline of William Graham Oliver’s interactions with the Fields household has intensified following the discovery of internal logs that suggest a much longer and more documented history than previously understood. According to reports from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, these logs were found within the Wilmer residence and feature Oliver’s name written on two distinct lines, each accompanied by a different date. This physical evidence effectively bridges the gap between the immediate tragedy and a series of past encounters, reinforcing the law enforcement assertion that the events of April 20 were not a sudden coincidence. The existence of these dated entries implies a formal or recurring relationship, where Oliver’s presence was significant enough to be recorded in a domestic or business-related ledger kept by the victims.

Hypothetically, the two separate dates next to Oliver’s name could represent specific milestones in a long-standing dispute or a series of financial transactions. If the first date corresponds to a period years prior—perhaps around the time of the 2018 two million dollar valuation case—it would suggest that Oliver has been a constant, if shadow-like, figure in the family’s legal or financial life for nearly a decade. Speculative analysis by those following the case suggests that the second, more recent date might indicate a deadline or a final meeting that occurred shortly before the violence erupted. If the victims were tracking their interactions with Oliver in such a meticulous manner, it points toward a relationship defined by caution or a need for administrative clarity, rather than a purely social bond.

The “internal logs” themselves serve as a primary piece of forensic evidence that shifts the narrative from a simple homicide to a case of potentially premeditated stalking or extortion. One might hypothesize that the person who wrote the logs—likely Lisa Gail Fields or one of the older children—did so to create a paper trail of Oliver’s involvement in their affairs. In many domestic crime scenes, the discovery of such handwritten records serves as a “voice from the grave,” providing investigators with a clear direction on who held the most influence or posed the greatest threat to the household. If the two dates reveal a pattern of increasing frequency in Oliver’s visits or demands, the prosecution can use this to establish a clear motive of escalating pressure that finally reached a breaking point.

Furthermore, the discrepancy between these dated logs and the digital contacts found on the phone introduces a layer of complexity regarding the victims’ perception of the suspect. While the phone contact suggests a modern, perhaps more casual connection, the handwritten logs imply a more serious or formalized engagement. One could speculate that the logs were tied to the “unnamed victims” mentioned in the indictment, suggesting that Oliver’s history with this group involved similar dated interactions or documented grievances. If the logs were found inside the same family document folder that contained the 2018 court records, it links the suspect directly to the family’s most sensitive legal history, making the “no coincidence” claim by investigators a cornerstone of the upcoming capital murder trial.

The survival of the eighteen-month-old child in a home filled with such specific, documented evidence of a suspect’s history remains one of the most chilling aspects of the case. It suggests that while the perpetrator was focused on the “one target” and the rummaging of the house, they were either unaware of these specific logs or were unable to locate and destroy them in time. This oversight by the suspect has allowed the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office to construct a timeline that predates the crime by months or even years. The dates written next to William Graham Oliver’s name now act as a map for detectives, who are currently working to verify his whereabouts and activities on those specific days to determine if they coincide with other threats or legal filings.

Ultimately, the transition from a “stranger danger” theory to a “documented history” case provides the community and the victims’ relatives with a clearer, albeit more painful, understanding of the lead-up to the tragedy. The records found in the Wilmer home prove that the family was aware of Oliver’s presence and, for reasons yet to be fully disclosed in court, felt it necessary to write his name down on separate lines of their personal history. As the investigation moves toward the penalty phase of the eight capital charges, these two dates will likely be presented as evidence of a calculated, long-term intent, ensuring that the legacy of Lisa, Keziah, and Thomas is inextricably linked to the exposure of the man who was recorded in their lives long before he ended them.