William Fry was born in about 1739. Likely a resident of Bertie County, North Carolina, on May 24, 1757 he saw Elizabeth Knott's body on the side of the road and alerted her traveling companion, John Liscomb. Fry later served as a witness for the prosecution in the murder trial against John Strawberry, an American Indian man who had been accused of killing Knott. Any further information about this individual has not been located.