The nephew of The Wire star Michael K. Williams has opened up about when he found his uncle’s body after a drug overdose.
Dominic Dupont knew there was nothing he could do to save the star and told 911 operators: ‘He’s gone. He is cold.’
Williams, 54, was pronounced dead in his Brooklyn penthouse on September 6 last year, leaving the showbiz world in shock. He starred as Omar Little on HBO’s groundbreaking series The Wire, and was known for the distinct scar on his face.
Dupont spoke about the tragedy this week to Jada Pinkett Smith in an episode of Red Table Talk about the deadly opiate fentanyl, revealing that Williams, who had battled addiction in the past, appeared to be “doing well”.
“I think a lot of what happened — what I saw on September 6 — I’m still processing,” Dupont said.
“Michael was an incredible human being.”
Describing the moment he found Williams, Dupont said he put his head in the house and said, “Uncle Mike, are you here?” And I watched him dead.
Dominic Dupont (L) and Michael K. Williams attend the screening of the HBO documentary they made, ‘Raised In The System’ April 3, 2018. Dupont found Williams’ body on September 6 last year , who died of a drug overdose
Michael K. Williams at the ‘Respect’ premiere on August 8, 2021, just a month before his death
Dominic Dupont, nephew of the late Michael K Williams, who spoke to Jada Pinkett Smith on Red Table Talk
Michael Kenneth Williams speaks with his nephew Dominic DuPont at the maximum security prison where Dominic was serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for a second-degree murder conviction as a teenager. He was granted clemency in 2017 after serving 20 years
Dupont walked into Williams’ house and knew something was wrong when there was no music.
Dupont explained that he went with his wife to visit his uncle after being without news for two days.
“I went upstairs, opened his door and it was quiet – Michael was still playing music. I stuck my head in and said ‘Uncle Mike? Are you here? ”
He knew immediately that Williams was dead, surrounded by drug paraphernalia.
Reporters were already gathering outside his window as news of the five-time Emmy-nominated actor’s death spread within an hour.
Williams had struggled with addiction in the past, which he was candid about during his career, but Dupont said he was “doing well” before the relapse.
“He was working on a book. It didn’t seem to me that Mike was relapsing into addiction,” he said.
Williams mentored his nephew even after Dupont was convicted of murder at age 19 in 1997, sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing a man to protect his twin brother in a fight.
Dupont won clemency for his leadership and positive impact on the prison system and was released from prison in 2018 after serving 20 years.
Williams is seen above as The Wire’s Omar Little (right) and Boardwalk Empire’s Chalky White (right). Dupont poked his head into Williams’ living room and said, “Uncle Mike? Are you here?”
Dupont discovered Williams in his penthouse apartment, located in the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg
He made an HBO documentary with Williams about his experiences called “Raised in the System”.
“Mike hasn’t seemed to be overwhelmed or faced any major issues in the past five years,” Dupont said.
“But Michael also worked very hard so that the things he was going through didn’t weigh on others. And he was an actor, right? I mean, you can fool people. You can convince people that you are fine.
But Dupont was adamant that, for all the demons Williams might have faced, he wouldn’t have knowingly taken fentanyl.
“I know it,” he said. “I know that like I know my first name.”
“The fentanyl that ends up in our communities is the reason I know Michael would want me here.
“A lot of what my life entails now is honoring his legacy…Michael thought we don’t sit back and just watch things fall apart and we just get complacent. If we do, we’re accomplices.
“We have to work hard to make people aware of what’s going on so that other people don’t have to feel the kind of pain that I felt.”
Four men have been arrested in connection with Williams’ death in February. Hector Robles, Luis Cruz, Carlos Macci and Irvin Cartagena have each been charged with narcotics conspiracy to distribute the fentanyl-containing heroin that allegedly killed the TV star.
Surveillance video released by investigators appears to show Cartagena handing Williams the lethal drugs a day before the star’s body was discovered.
Actor Michael K. Williams (left, dressed in black) was on stage buying drugs from Irvin Cartagena (wearing blue pants) on September 5, the day before he died of a fatal drug overdose heroin with fentanyl
An old real estate ad photo shows the living area of Williams’ Brooklyn apartment
Williams is survived by an adult son named Elijah. The pair are pictured together in a snap shared on Instagram by Williams last January
Irvin Cartagena (pictured) has been named as the man who sold Williams the deadly drugs. He has already been arrested at least twice for selling illegal drugs, according to reports
Williams was born in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and spent his childhood in the projects surrounded by drugs and violence.
As a young boy, he was sexually abused. He told The New York Times that the experience left him confused about his own sexuality and caused him to withdraw into himself.
On the eve of his 25th birthday in 1991, Williams attempted to intervene when a group of muggers jumped on one of his friends. One of the attackers pulled out a knife and slashed him, leaving him with a distinctive long scar across the front of his face and neck.
Dupont and Williams have always been close, and Williams continued to support Dupont even after he was sentenced to life in prison for murder as a teenager.
Williams eventually signed up for the National Black Theater in New York and launched his dancing career, playing roles in Madonna and George Michael music videos.
Williams made her film debut in 1996, appearing opposite Tupac Shakur in the movie Bullet.
Three years later, he played a drug trafficker in Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead. He also landed a brief appearance on HBO’s hit show The Sopranos.
However, in 2002, he landed the definitive role of his career, playing Omar Little in The Wire.
Williams was open about his struggles with drug addiction. Since the age of 19, he has been going in and out of clinics for treatment.
During her years of filming The Wire, Williams relapsed. In 2005, he walked into a church in New Jersey to seek help with his drug problem.
Despite her ongoing drug struggles, Williams enjoyed continued success following the conclusion of The Wire.
From 2010 to 2014 he played Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire. He has also appeared in films such as 12 Years A Slave, Inherent Vice and Motherless Brooklyn.
In 2019, he returned to the small screen, starring in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us, which earned him another Emmy nod.
Last year he played Montrose Freeman on the HBO series Lovecraft Country. He was also featured in an episode of the late Anthony Bourdain’s Travel Channel show, No Reservations.