Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Love Con Revenge’ is a six-part true crime documentary series that follows Cecilie Fjellhøy, a romance fraud victim of Simon Leviev, and a private investigator named Brianne Joseph, who team up to get justice for several romance fraud victims across the nation. One of the scammers that they investigate is Ricky Morrisey, whom Bridget Phillips accused of emotional manipulation by allegedly claiming to be best friends with a late soldier named Clarence Williams. Ricky’s manipulation of Bridget, scamming of her hard-earned money and the facts around Clarence’s death are explored extensively in the Netflix production.
Clarence Williams Walked in His Father’s Footsteps and Joined the Army
Born in the late 1980s to Talisa and Clarence Williams Jr., Army Specialist Clarence Williams III was raised in a loving and caring household alongside his sisters, Abrill Edwards and Samantha. Since his father had served in the army and was in the Reserve while working as a corporal with the Florida Highway Patrol, Clarence was inspired by him and wanted to follow in his footsteps from an early age. He attended Hernando High School, where he was on the football team. Being a religious individual, he was also an integral member of the choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Brooksville.
Apart from spending time with his family and friends, some of Clarence’s passions also included hog hunting and fishing in the woods and water. His mere presence could light up any room he walked into, making it easy and effortless for him to make new friends. He also had an associate’s degree in criminal justice to his name. In 2009, his dream finally came true when he enlisted in the Army for five years. His mother described him in an interview with WCJB, stating, “He would give you the shirt off of his back. I remember when he was stationed in El Paso, Texas, there was a young man that needed a battery for his vehicle, he gave that young man a battery for his vehicle.”
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Clarence Williams Lost His Life While Serving His Country
It was in December 2011 when Clarence Williams III saw his family for the last time, before leaving to serve time in Afghanistan in February 2012. While he was there, he was in touch with his parents and siblings, claiming how Afghanistan had reaffirmed his faith in Christianity. His sister, Abrill, told Tampa Bay Times, “He told me how precious he knew life was, just being around a bunch of killing. He told me he read his Bible every day and he knew he was covered by God. He wasn’t worried.” With just two or three weeks remaining of his six-month tour in the country, the 23-year-old soldier met with his untimely demise due to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
Several hours after Clarence’s death, his family was informed about the tragedy. He was reportedly martyred along with five other soldiers as their armored vehicle ran over a roadside bomb in Maidan Shahr, Afghanistan, on July 8, 2012, around 8 pm. The device reportedly contained more than 200 pounds of explosives, which exploded under the pressure from the vehicle. Around the time, Ricky Morrisey was also serving in the army.
On the show, Bridget mentioned that Ricky claimed to be Clarence’s best friend and told her that Clarence had died while saving his life from gunshots. She further alleged that Ricky exploited Clarence’s tragic demise for personal gain to trick her into giving him large sums of money to provide for the fallen soldier’s family, including his kids. However, when Cecilie Fjellhøy and Brianne Joseph talked to Clarence’s family about it, they reported that Ricky’s alleged claims didn’t match the actual circumstances of his death. In reality, Clarence didn’t have a wife and kids. In the end, Ricky was found guilty of 3 felony charges of larceny and fraud.
