Witnesses testify victims helped Comer with food, clothes and shelter in tight-knit community of Jollet Hollow before killings and manhunt in 2023
• PUBLISHER’S NOTE: While the facts of Wednesday’s sentencing are presented below, PVN is working on a follow-up piece for next week that will explore who the victims were, their place within a small community, and how their absence has affected Jollet Hollow.
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Aug. 26 — A small, tight-knit “holler” community along Page County’s southern border with Rockingham was rocked in the summer of 2023 by the killing of three residents within 11 days and the two-week manhunt for the killer. Three years later, the folks of Jollet Hollow finally received some level of closure on Wednesday afternoon in Page County Circuit Court.
Judge Clark A. Ritchie sentenced Timothy Thomas Comer to three consecutive 40-year prison terms for the second-degree murders of his neighbor Gregory Lee Williams, his family member Eunice Lam, and Michael Lyles, who some called his “best friend.”
“This case really comes down to givers and takers…the victims were givers…you are a taker…It’s mostly how you have been all of your life…selfish, disingenuous, and unmotivated … You have taken food, rides, shelter…. and ultimately, and outrageously, you took their lives,” Judge Ritchie said on Wednesday before reading his sentence.
“I can’t imagine having to deal with the almost unformidable betrayal.”
After hearing more than two hours of testimony from family and friends of the victims, reviewing a dozen victim impact statements, and combing through a pre-sentencing report…the circuit court judge only took about 20 minutes to deliberate in his chambers before presenting his sentence.
“The time from the first murder to the second and third…you weren’t horrified by your acts…because you continued to kill…the lack of reflection…it shows you are a tremendous danger,” the judge said. “This is a tragedy. It was not necessary. It was outrageous and violent. You can not be free. You are a danger to anything that stands in your way.”
Following his statements, Judge Ritchie gave Comer the maximum sentence allowed under Virginia code for second degree murder — 40 years in prison for each of the three counts. Those three prison terms are to run consecutively, which results in a cumulative 120 years behind bars. Comer, now 58, would be 178 years old before he is subject to the three years of supervised probation procedurly tacked onto the penalties. Judge Ritchie also required Comer to pay just under $13,000 in restitution, in part to help pay for the funeral expenses of his three victims.
The sentencing guidelines presented to the court recommended a penalty of between 18 to 31 years in prison for each offense. However, Judge Ritchie stated that while “guidelines are important…a valuable tool and they take into account many factors”…”but guidelines can not take everything into account.”
He noted a grandchild losing the memory of who granddad was prior to a birthday celebration, another grandchild that would never know him, a twin sister feeling lost and alone without her “other half”, and a young daughter struggling to understand why daddy went away, as examples of the intangibles that the sentencing guidelines could not address.
On Dec. 17, 2025, Comer signed a plea agreement with the commonwealth that took first degree murder — and the death penalty — off the table. Second-degree murder, which Comer plead guilty to, caps off at a 40-year sentence. The plea deal preempted a three-week jury trial that had been scheduled to begin on Jan. 20. As part of the plea deal, four original charges were nolle prosequi (not processed) — including an arson charge and three weapons charges — while all three murder charges were reduced to second degree murder.
While 120 years of incarceration is essentially a life sentence, some of Wednesday’s witnesses for the prosecution seemed to think that the killer of their loved one deserved even more.
“It’s hard to see you can’t even raise your head and face the people you hurt,” said Amanda Lyles, twin sister of victim Michael Lyles and granddaughter of victim Eunice Lam. Amanda, the most vocal and emotional of the six prosecution witnesses, made her comments directly to “Timmy”, who sat quietly at the defense table with his eye glasses propped up on his head, hands in chains, arms crossed, and his eyes, nearly closed, fixated on the floor. At times, it appeared as if he were napping as he leaned back in his chair.
“It’s sickening,” Amanda continued with rising emotion in her voice. “I hope the remaining days of your life are miserable…I hope people steal your food…I hope you feel unsafe…I hope you feel scared…you are a piece of shit.”
The nightmare began at about 5:05 p.m. on June 29, 2023, when the Page County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) received a 911 call in reference to a “man down” in the 5600 block of Jollett Road. The site actually has an Elkton mailing address, but sits within the southern boundary of Page County not far from Naked Creek.
Upon the arrival of first responders from fire, emergency medical services (EMS) and law enforcement, a male identified as Gregory Lee Williams, 69, was “located on his property deceased from an apparent gunshot wound,” according to a press release issued by the Page County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation was immediately handled as a homicide.
On Wednesday in circuit court, Greg’s widow, Gena Williams, held up extremely well on the stand, and she talked about her late husband with a smile on her face.
“We had a good life, and we knew we had a good life,” Gena told the court. “That morning we were sitting and looking over the pond, and we discussed how we had a good life and were blessed.”
The couple bought a few dozen acres in Jollet Hollow several years back as a get away spot and eventual retirement home. The Front Royal couple worked a combined 66 years at Dupont before settling in the southern part of Page County. Described as a “perfectionist” by his wife, Greg, she said, “did all of the work on our place,” as well as mowing, fixing and repairing things for neighbors as well.
“I used to tell him he was like the little mayor” of Jollet Hollow, Gena said.
The first person to actually find Greg’s body was Steve Breeden, a friend and hunting buddy. On the day of the shooting, Breeden stated he received a call from Williams’ wife and went looking for his friend. He found his lifeless body near a fence line with Comer’s property. Breeden testified last year that his all-terrain vehicle (side-by-side) was still running, with Williams’ rifle strapped in between the seats. He returned to Williams’ home, informed his wife, and called law enforcement.
Comer was living in a small trailer in the Jollett area for a while reportedly with no electricity or running water. That trailer sat roughly 50 feet from where Williams’ body was found, along with .45-caliber shell casings, according to an earlier report in court given by Commonwealth Attorney Chapman Good. He also added that the two men had “an ongoing dispute about property.” After his arrest, Comer would later confess the murder to a cellmate.
“There are takers and givers in this world, and you are a taker,” Gena said to “Timmy”, who remained unresponsive, staring at the floor through nearly closed eyes. “This is a destructive and despicable act. You killed Greg, Eunice and Michael in cold blood. You stomped all over the Sixth Commandment. The kindness that Greg showed to you, I will never understand.
“We all make choices in life…and I have chosen to forgive you. I still think you are horrible, and I hope the court will give you the maximum punishment allowed. I don’t want to ever talk to you again. I hope I never see you again, and I hope you never see me again,” Gena continued in her address to the defendant, who never made eye contact. “I have made a choice to forgive him…I don’t like what he did, but I felt that’s what God wants me to do…I have forgiven him, but I will never forget.”
For two weeks in the middle of summer in 2023, mixed reports indicated that the fugitive may have been avoiding law enforcement through Jollet Hollow’s remote and rugged trails and thickets, or possibly by getting some help from close-by friends and relatives. Shenandoah National Park temporarily shut down some trails in that area during the most intensive portion of the search. Some in the area mentioned potential squabbling among the neighbors prior to the shooting.
After the manhunt ensued, one person who would not help “Timmy” was Eunice, referred to as the “administrator” of Jollet Hollow, to Greg’s “mayor” moniker. The grandmother figure to many in the hollow, baked rolls and pies for various occasions, regularly attended church three or four times a week, kept a stocked fridge for all who came to visit, and continued to find Bible verses to help her neighbors despite losing her sight.
“She was a giver…if anyone stopped by, she expected them to eat,” her son, Sam Lyles, told the court on Wednesday. “That’s one of the things I miss…there were things she cooked that I will probably never taste again.”
Eunice insisted that Sam give “Timmy” some clothes so that he would have something better to wear to the family reunion. She insisted that “Timmy” be there, and as Sam put it…”She didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, especially when it was something involving family.”
The first 11 days of the 15-day search for Comer utilized resources from the sheriff’s office in Page, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, as well as the Virginia State Police. The search was joined by U.S. Marshals soon after a fatal fire on the same block of Jollett Road claimed two lives on Sunday, July 9, 2023. Found the next day among the debris once the site cooled, the remains of two bodies were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner in Manassas. Those remains would be identified as Eunice Lam and Michael Lyles.
Michael had moved in with Eunice two years earlier in order to take care of his grandmother, and he considered “Timmy” his best friend.
“Michael was my other half…he was my best friend…he was always there whenever I needed him. We were inseparable for 25 years… I was even a little jealous when he got a girlfriend,” his twin sister Amanda testified. She now takes care of Michael’s daughter.
“Michael loved Timmy…that was his best friend. I never understood it,” Amanda continued. “Michael did everything he could for him…rides, food, buy him stuff, somebody to hang out with…I never understood it.”
On July 11, 2023, marshals started offering a $2,500 reward for information on the whereabouts of Comer. Two days later, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the search and added another $7,500 to the reward purse. At 9:37 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, 2023 — just a few hours after the reward money increased four-fold to $10,000 — Comer was in custody.
The sheriff’s office received numerous tips from citizens during the search, but seemed to arrive at some sites just after Comer had reportedly left the area. That ended when a tip came in around 6 p.m. on July 13, 2023 “that Comer was seen entering a vacant home in the 4000 block of Jollett Road.” Although deputies arrived within minutes, verified that Comer was inside the residence and established a perimeter, according to the report, it would be more than three hours before Comer was arrested.
The delay was fueled by Comer’s defiance to multiple commands by law enforcement to exit the residence, a report stated. Gas was used to push him out of the structure. He was eventually taken into custody by a state police tactical team.
During this week’s sentencing, court-appointed public defender Peter K. McDermott of Virginia Defenders in Winchester and Harrisonburg attorney Gene Hart presented nothing in defense of Comer’s actions and little in support of a reduced sentence. McDermott told the court that Comer had requested his legal team to not call any witnesses for the sentencing, and they did not cross examine any of the prosecution’s six witnesses.
The public defender spoke in low tones to the judge and argued briefly that the sentencing guidelines were “there for a reason,” and to “stay focused on the law instead of vengeance.” The prosecution would argue that the guidelines were “totally insufficient.”
“The heinousness of these crimes is beyond reproach,” said the commonwealth attorney. “Not just the fact that he murdered three people, but three people who helped him…who he had been to their homes many times… We know the court can give no more than 40 years for each crime, but the Commonwealth asks for every single day because that is what these crimes deserve.”
When given the opportunity to address the court, the defendant gave a barely audible, monotone 10-second reply that contained the words “sincere condolences”.
Those words seemed to carry little weight compared to the words of a 12-year-old girl, the daughter of the late Michael Lyles, as read by witness Linda Breeden, Michael’s cousin. Fighting to hold back tears, Breeden told the court how the last thing that the girl remembered about her father was planning to go to the pool with him.
“Timmy took that tomorrow away for the rest of my life…He made me feel extra loved [and that is gone] …because some stupid idiot took him away from me, but I don’t know why…”
In delivering his sentence, Judge Ritchie noted that he had reviewed “every single word” of the testimony, “every single word” of the 12 victim impact statements, and “every single word” of the pre-sentence report. He quoted witness testimony heard on Wednesday several times during his remarks, including the analogy of “givers and takers”. He showed each victim — each individual murder — special attention.
“It’s clear Mr. Williams was a man of tremendous generosity…he was clearly a blessing to that entire community….a committed neighbor that sympathized with everyone in that community…even you…even you,” the circuit court judge said to the defendant.
“Eunice was a tremendous woman…amazingly resilient, even though she would eventually be totally blind… she loved so many…even you,” the judge continued. “Eunice had a commitment to right and wrong, and when you didn’t get what you wanted, you executed her…you executed a blind, elderly woman who [helped] you…I have no doubt she would have prayed for you…despite having Mr. Williams’ blood on your hands…”
“Michael was your friend, even when others didn’t understand that…these are givers. ….You cut him down and you fled…and still they gave you food and shelter…”
With four rows in the circuit court on Wednesday full of members of the Williams, Lyles and Lam families looking on, the judge acknowledged what they could take away from the day’s proceedings as he addressed the defendant.
“There are things that you did not take away because you can’t,” Judge Ritchie said in conclusion before delivering the 120-year sentence. “You can’t take away the memories of all these people and the feeling of love and support they share.
“You’ve taken a lot from them, but you can’t take that.”
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