There is a long and sordid backstory behind this. Dad is NAEEM WILLIAMS. See our previous posts.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Hawaii.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/family/2016/02/09/congress-moves-confront-military-child-abuse-talias-law/80089648/
Congress moves to confront military child abuse with Talia's Law
By Drew Gerber, Medill News Service 9:01 p.m. EST February 9, 2016
The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would require anyone employed by the Defense Department to report cases of suspected child abuse on military installations to state child protective service agencies in addition to reporting such suspected crimes up their chain of command.
The legislation was approved by voice vote and sent to the Senate for consideration.
Called Talia’s Law, the bill is named for five-year-old Talia Williams who was tortured and beaten to death by her father — an active-duty Army specialist at the time — and step-mother in 2005 at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii.
Talia’s mother, Tarshia Williams, sued the U.S. government in 2008 for what she argued were failures by military officials to report suspicions that her daughter was being abused. Williams was awarded $2 million in a settlement last May.
The Defense Department had signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of Hawaii in 2013 that said the state’s child welfare services agency was “primarily” responsible for handling instances of child abuse on military bases. But DOD also has its own parallel system for child and domestic abuse investigations.
Suspected cases of child abuse are reported to military police or the installation’s Family Advocacy Program, which work in coordination to identify and investigate instances of child abuse. Those mandated by law to report suspected child abuse are usually professionally involved with children, such as day-care workers and doctors.
The U.S. District Court of Hawaii, where Williams brought her suit, found that various individuals failed to report Talia’s case, including members of the military police, doctors, and an employee with the Family Advocacy Program – all covered by the House bill.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaking about Talia’s case on the Senate floor last June, said information about the abuse never reached the Army provost, whom she said was the only person required to report to the state’s child welfare services.
However, groups like the Department of Defense Education Activity and military law enforcement are required to report to local and state child protective services, as well as to the Family Advocacy Program, according to existing law.
Additionally, a defense official said that the Pentagon has previously recommended passage of legislation to improve communication between the Defense Department and states’ child protective service agencies.
Hawaiian Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Mark Takai, both Democrats, introduced the bill in the House last November. Both are active-duty military officers in the Hawaii Army National Guard.
the 29,000 cases of child abuse and neglect in the military in the past decade, Gabbard said on the House floor Tuesday that her bill creates the same protections for military children that exist for any other child.
Rates of child abuse and neglect in the military, though half the rate typically seen in the civilian population, have been on the rise since 2010, according to a 2014 memorandum from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Rosemary Williams.
Incidents of child abuse and neglect rose 10 percent in 2014, a Defense Department spokesman, Air Force Maj. Ben Sakrisson, said last September. On Tuesday, Sakrisson said via email that it is Defense Department policy to not comment on pending legislation.
Kelly Hruska, director of government relations for the National Military Families Association, said the focus now should be on preventing the system from failing any more children.
“We need to make sure children have the best protection possible. We need to make sure potential reports are not being ignored or falling through the cracks,” she said.
Military children serve a strong support role within their families, according to Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who asked her colleagues to support the legislation. Forced to move frequently, military children face greater academic and emotional challenges and rely on their relationships with the adults in their lives, she said.
It is inexcusable, Stefanik said “when those adults that these children trust the most hurt them in any way… Anyone who abuses or neglects a child … must be held accountable.”
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Congressman introduce "Talia's Law" after custodial dad kills 5-year-old daughter on military base--and avoids justice for 10 years (Honolulu, Hawaii)
There is a long backstory about how convicted killer dad NAEEM WILLIAMS managed to strip the protective mother of custody, abuse with impunity, and avoid going to trial for ten long years. Outrageous. Past posts on this case are here.
See the Killer Dads and Custody List for the State of Hawaii.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/talias-law-child-abuse-hawaii-military-bases_563b9fc2e4b0b24aee494b72
Hawaii Reps Introduce 'Talia's Law' To Prevent Child Abuse And Neglect On Military Bases Five-year-old Talia Williams was beaten to death by her Army father.
Chris D'Angelo Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii
Posted: 11/05/2015 06:26 PM EST | Edited: 11/05/2015 06:30 PM EST
HONOLULU -- Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Mark Takai (D-Hawaii) introduced federal legislation this week aimed at better protecting children from abuse on military bases.
The proposed law is named after Talia Williams, a 5-year-old who was beaten to death in 2005 by her father, Naeem Williams, then an active-duty infantryman stationed in Hawaii.
The girl's murder reportedly came after months of torture and abuse by both her father and stepmother, Delilah Williams.
According to Delilah Williams' court testimony, Talia was denied food for days at a time, duct-taped to a bed and whipped, and kept out of daycare to hide physical signs of her beatings.
Naeem Williams' fatal blow, prosecutors said, left knuckle imprints on the child's chest.
Legal proceedings revealed that multiple federal employees, including military police and employees at her on-base child care facility, failed to report suspected signs of Talia’s abuse.
"Despite multiple reports to officials at the Army base in Hawaii where Talia and her father lived, the system failed to protect her," Gabbard said Tuesday during a speech on the House floor.
Tarshia Williams/AP Lawmakers introduced "Talia's Law" after five-year-old Talia Williams was beaten to death by her Army father.
Currently, military professionals who come into contact with children are required to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to a military point of contact, who is then supposed to notify the state Child Protective Services.
"Talia's Law" would "close the communications gap that may exist," according to a release from Gabbard's office, by requiring military professionals to immediately report such cases directly to state Child Protective Services as well as their military point of contact.
"Talia's tragic story is just one of over 29,000 cases of child abuse and neglect in military homes over the last decade," Gabbard said on the House floor. "This is a problem that demands better protections for our children in military families who are being abused, and better support for military families facing the stresses of war, multiple deployments and economic hardship."
A 2013 investigation by the Army Times found 118 children of Army soldiers died in the previous decade due to child abuse or neglect, and more than 1,400 Army children were subjected to sexual abuse.
“Our military keiki (children) should never feel unsafe or neglected," Takai said in a statement. "I hope that through Talia's Law we make the necessary changes to protect these military families and their children."
U.S. Army/Associated Press Talia Williams' father, Naeem Williams, neglected and fatally punched his daughter, which prompted Hawaii lawmakers to introduce "Talia's Law."
In February, Naeem Williams was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his daughter, and narrowly escaped the death penalty.
Hawaii outlawed the death penalty in 1957, but since the crime took place on military property, the case was tried in federal court, where the death penalty is allowed.
It was the first death penalty case to go to trial in Hawaii since capital punishment was abolished in the territory.
Delilah Williams was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
Talia Williams' biological mother, Tarshia Williams, began pushing for new legislation shortly after she was awarded a $2 million settlement from the U.S. government in May over the death of her daughter.
“I would love for this law to get passed so it can help another child not go through what my daughter went through,” Tarshia Williams said in June.
See the Killer Dads and Custody List for the State of Hawaii.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/talias-law-child-abuse-hawaii-military-bases_563b9fc2e4b0b24aee494b72
Hawaii Reps Introduce 'Talia's Law' To Prevent Child Abuse And Neglect On Military Bases Five-year-old Talia Williams was beaten to death by her Army father.
Chris D'Angelo Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii
Posted: 11/05/2015 06:26 PM EST | Edited: 11/05/2015 06:30 PM EST
HONOLULU -- Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Mark Takai (D-Hawaii) introduced federal legislation this week aimed at better protecting children from abuse on military bases.
The proposed law is named after Talia Williams, a 5-year-old who was beaten to death in 2005 by her father, Naeem Williams, then an active-duty infantryman stationed in Hawaii.
The girl's murder reportedly came after months of torture and abuse by both her father and stepmother, Delilah Williams.
According to Delilah Williams' court testimony, Talia was denied food for days at a time, duct-taped to a bed and whipped, and kept out of daycare to hide physical signs of her beatings.
Naeem Williams' fatal blow, prosecutors said, left knuckle imprints on the child's chest.
Legal proceedings revealed that multiple federal employees, including military police and employees at her on-base child care facility, failed to report suspected signs of Talia’s abuse.
"Despite multiple reports to officials at the Army base in Hawaii where Talia and her father lived, the system failed to protect her," Gabbard said Tuesday during a speech on the House floor.
Tarshia Williams/AP Lawmakers introduced "Talia's Law" after five-year-old Talia Williams was beaten to death by her Army father.
Currently, military professionals who come into contact with children are required to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to a military point of contact, who is then supposed to notify the state Child Protective Services.
"Talia's Law" would "close the communications gap that may exist," according to a release from Gabbard's office, by requiring military professionals to immediately report such cases directly to state Child Protective Services as well as their military point of contact.
"Talia's tragic story is just one of over 29,000 cases of child abuse and neglect in military homes over the last decade," Gabbard said on the House floor. "This is a problem that demands better protections for our children in military families who are being abused, and better support for military families facing the stresses of war, multiple deployments and economic hardship."
A 2013 investigation by the Army Times found 118 children of Army soldiers died in the previous decade due to child abuse or neglect, and more than 1,400 Army children were subjected to sexual abuse.
“Our military keiki (children) should never feel unsafe or neglected," Takai said in a statement. "I hope that through Talia's Law we make the necessary changes to protect these military families and their children."
U.S. Army/Associated Press Talia Williams' father, Naeem Williams, neglected and fatally punched his daughter, which prompted Hawaii lawmakers to introduce "Talia's Law."
In February, Naeem Williams was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his daughter, and narrowly escaped the death penalty.
Hawaii outlawed the death penalty in 1957, but since the crime took place on military property, the case was tried in federal court, where the death penalty is allowed.
It was the first death penalty case to go to trial in Hawaii since capital punishment was abolished in the territory.
Delilah Williams was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
Talia Williams' biological mother, Tarshia Williams, began pushing for new legislation shortly after she was awarded a $2 million settlement from the U.S. government in May over the death of her daughter.
“I would love for this law to get passed so it can help another child not go through what my daughter went through,” Tarshia Williams said in June.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Custodial dad charged with "endangerment" in death of 2-year-old daughter; girl died from blunt force trauma to head (Carthage, Missouri)
Media reports thus far have been a little inconsistent and sketchy as to how dad ALBERT STEVEN O'CONNOR gained custody of this little girl and who gave it to him.
http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/preliminary-autopsy-findings-confirm-carthage-girl-died-from-blows-to/article_ef240536-50c9-11e5-9f82-b3728bbcfeb6.html
Preliminary autopsy findings confirm Carthage girl died from blows to head
Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 11:53 am
Debby Woodin
Posted on Sep 1, 2015
by Debby Woodin
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Preliminary autopsy findings show that a 2-year-old Carthage girl died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to Police Chief Greg Dagnan.
Dagnan said the body of Emalata "Emma" Hoeft has been transferred to Ulmer Funeral Home in Carthage where it will have to be determined who will have rights to conduct final arrangements for the toddler.
Her father, Albert Steven O'Connor, 26, 1915 Missouri Ave. is in custody in lieu of $200,000 bond on a charge of felony endangerment of a child for leaving the girl home alone several times before her death.
The girl's biological mother lives in Hawaii. She and her family want to claim the girl's body for final rites, the police chief said.
The father's girlfriend, Tearra Diane Olson, 20, who was identified as his fiancee, is in custody in lieu of $750,000 surety bond and/or $250,000 cash bond, formally charged with felony child abuse resulting in death.
A patholigist has ruled the manner of death as homicide, Dagnan said, though investigators won't know the extent of the girl's injuries or whether there is evidence of past physical abuse until they receive a written report of the autopsy findings.
Olson allegedly told investigators that the girl was fussy on Friday night, screaming, crying and refusing to eat her dinner about 6 p.m. and that Olson struck the girl's head against a hard surface three times, according to an affidavit by Detective Ben Vogt filed in Jasper County Circuit Court at Joplin. Olson said the girl was not breathing and she put the girl to bed and closed the door, where emergency responders found her dead at 8:08 a.m. Saturday after being called to the couple's home because the girl was unresponsive.
Olston had been working at Flexolator and O'Connor at Butterball.
Though O'Connor has not been charged in connection with the girl's death, his charge of child endangerment is the result of statements he allegedly made to police that the couple had left the toddler home alone four times last week while they worked.
O'Connor told them the girl was left alone in her room with a sippy cup of water from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, according to an affidavit by Detective Adam Blankenship.
"Our belief is that she died Friday night," Dagnan said.
The couple has no other children, he said. The father and biological mother had a custody agreement between themselves that allowed the child to be in his custody, according to the police chief. There was no history of police calls to the couple's home and they had lived in Carthage only a few months, coming there from California, Dagnan said.
http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/preliminary-autopsy-findings-confirm-carthage-girl-died-from-blows-to/article_ef240536-50c9-11e5-9f82-b3728bbcfeb6.html
Preliminary autopsy findings confirm Carthage girl died from blows to head
Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 11:53 am
Debby Woodin
Posted on Sep 1, 2015
by Debby Woodin
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Preliminary autopsy findings show that a 2-year-old Carthage girl died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to Police Chief Greg Dagnan.
Dagnan said the body of Emalata "Emma" Hoeft has been transferred to Ulmer Funeral Home in Carthage where it will have to be determined who will have rights to conduct final arrangements for the toddler.
Her father, Albert Steven O'Connor, 26, 1915 Missouri Ave. is in custody in lieu of $200,000 bond on a charge of felony endangerment of a child for leaving the girl home alone several times before her death.
The girl's biological mother lives in Hawaii. She and her family want to claim the girl's body for final rites, the police chief said.
The father's girlfriend, Tearra Diane Olson, 20, who was identified as his fiancee, is in custody in lieu of $750,000 surety bond and/or $250,000 cash bond, formally charged with felony child abuse resulting in death.
A patholigist has ruled the manner of death as homicide, Dagnan said, though investigators won't know the extent of the girl's injuries or whether there is evidence of past physical abuse until they receive a written report of the autopsy findings.
Olson allegedly told investigators that the girl was fussy on Friday night, screaming, crying and refusing to eat her dinner about 6 p.m. and that Olson struck the girl's head against a hard surface three times, according to an affidavit by Detective Ben Vogt filed in Jasper County Circuit Court at Joplin. Olson said the girl was not breathing and she put the girl to bed and closed the door, where emergency responders found her dead at 8:08 a.m. Saturday after being called to the couple's home because the girl was unresponsive.
Olston had been working at Flexolator and O'Connor at Butterball.
Though O'Connor has not been charged in connection with the girl's death, his charge of child endangerment is the result of statements he allegedly made to police that the couple had left the toddler home alone four times last week while they worked.
O'Connor told them the girl was left alone in her room with a sippy cup of water from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, according to an affidavit by Detective Adam Blankenship.
"Our belief is that she died Friday night," Dagnan said.
The couple has no other children, he said. The father and biological mother had a custody agreement between themselves that allowed the child to be in his custody, according to the police chief. There was no history of police calls to the couple's home and they had lived in Carthage only a few months, coming there from California, Dagnan said.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Joint custody dad, fiancee charged in death of 2-year-old daughter; protective mother speaks out (Carthage, Missouri)
Due to the influence of fathers rights ideology, mothers are being pressured, brainwashed, and bullied into joint custody with fathers where there was never a marital relationship or even long-term committed relationship. That is insane in itself. But add a bullying, controlling violent father into the mix, a young child who cannot communicate with the mother, and thousands of miles of distance, and you have a recipe for disaster.
There is ZERO reason for a 2-year-old child being forced into joint custody. Young children need loving, consistent care by a primary caregiver. They do not need to be shipped from Hawaii to Missouri like so much freight.
Dad is identified as ALBERT STEVEN O'CONNOR.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Missouri.
http://www.carthagepress.com/article/20150902/NEWS/150909755/?Start=1
Mother speaks about girl killed in child abuse case
The mother of a two-year-old girl, found dead in a Carthage home had just last week booked a flight to Joplin to pick up the girl and take her to her home in Hawaii as part of a shared custody agreement she had with the baby's father.
By John Hacker Posted Sep. 2, 2015 at 9:41 AM
The mother of a two-year-old girl, found dead in a Carthage home had just last week booked a flight to Joplin to pick up the girl and take her to her home in Hawaii as part of a shared custody agreement she had with the baby's father.
Frida Hoeft hadn't seen little Emalata Hoeft since March in California.
“That was the last time I gave her the last hug and her last kiss and told her I'd be back for her soon,” Frida Hoeft said in a telephone interview with The Carthage Press. “Now I'm going to be back for her in a casket. It really sucks.”
What happened
Emalata Hoeft was found dead when Carthage fire, ambulance and police were called to the home at 1915 Missouri St. shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday for a medical call about an unresponsive child.
Medical personnel determined the child was dead and the man and woman in the home, who turned out to be the child's biological father and his fiancé, were questioned by police after they determined there was reason to believe the child's death was not natural causes.
Tearra Diane Olson, 20, and Albert Steven O'Connor, 26, were arrested on Saturday. #Olson was charged with the class A felony abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, and is being held in the Jasper County Jail on a bond of $750,000 surety and $250,000 cash.
O'Connor was charged first degree endangering the welfare of a child and is being held on $200,000 bond cash or surety.
The probable cause affidavits, filed by Carthage police investigators to support the charges being sought against suspects, paint a picture of neglect turning into an explosion of physical abuse that resulted in the child's death.
CPD Det. Adam Blankenship said in the affidavit on O'Connor that O'Connor worked at the Butterball plant while Olson worked at Flex-o-Lators.
The affidavit alleges that O'Connor “left the two-year-old child at home alone while he and his fiancé were both at work, with no supervision and shut up in the child's bedroom with only a sippy cup of water to drink.”
The affidavit said this happened from 9 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. On Aug. 24, 25, 26 and 28.
The document also said a baby sitter who had cared for the child had not had her in her care since Aug. 21 because the babysitter was out of town.
Carthage Det. Ben Vogt wrote the affidavit in Olson's case.
He said officers were called to the home at 8:08 a.m. Saturday for the report of an unresponsive child.
He said officers contacted Olson and O'Connor and found the child dead in the back bedroom of the home.
“Tearra Diane Olson was later interviewed and disclosed to an officer that she struck (name redacted) head 3 times on a hard surface at approximately (6 p.m.) on Aug. 28, 015,” the affidavit said. “Olson stated she struck E.H. Due to her screaming, crying and refusing to eat her dinner. (Name redacted) was not breathing and Olson then placed (name redacted) in her bed and closed the door.”
Carthage Police Chief Greg Dagnan said O'Connor was apparently not home at the time that Olson is alleged to have struck the child's head on the hard surface.
A mother grieves
Frida Hoeft said her daughter was the love of her life and and a very happy child.
“She was just a happy baby,” Friday Hoeft said. “She loved to dance, she loved to put smiles on people's faces, she loved to just laugh out of nowhere, she loved to play. She just loved everybody. She never put a frown on nobody's face.”
Frida Hoeft said she met Steven O'Connor in California and they had a brief relationship before Emalata was born.
Hoeft grew up in Hawaii, where her family lives, and had moved to “the states” on two occasions after graduation, once in 2010 and then in 2012 when she met O'Connor.
Emalata was born in Sacramento and the relationship with O'Connor didn't last, but they were all living in California until early in 2015 when O'Connor announced he and his fiancé were moving to Missouri.
“Me and her father came to an agreement because he wanted to move to Carthage because his girlfriend, she apparently said her dad wanted them to move in,” Frida Hoeft said. “I said if you're going to move then I'm going to move with you or we're going to come to this agreement where we're going to share custody going back and forth with her. He said okay.”
The mother said O'Connor and Olson moved to Missouri and she returned to be with her family in Hawaii. Frida Hoeft said O'Connor and Olson moved to Carthage sometime in April and she tried to stay in contact with O'Connor, Olson and Emalata, but O'Connor made it difficult.
“They didn't keep me updated, Steven tends to give me attitude,” Hoeft said. “He doesn't want to tell me nothing and he'll lie to me about everything. He wasn't terribly honest with me. My whole family lives here and I was supposed to pick her up this Friday and I had just booked my flight. I was flying to Joplin.”
Now Frida Hoeft and her family are planning Emalata's funeral. Frieda said she plans to bury Emalata in a cemetery in Pearl City, Hawaii.
“I have family and friends and unknown people that I do not know are helping me by fundraising to bring her home and to help her have the funeral she deserves,” Frida said. “That's my main goal now, just to make sure she's back here and she's going to have the best funeral she can have because she needs a beautiful funeral just like how she was and still is. She still lives on in my life and everyone's life down here.”
There is ZERO reason for a 2-year-old child being forced into joint custody. Young children need loving, consistent care by a primary caregiver. They do not need to be shipped from Hawaii to Missouri like so much freight.
Dad is identified as ALBERT STEVEN O'CONNOR.
See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Missouri.
http://www.carthagepress.com/article/20150902/NEWS/150909755/?Start=1
Mother speaks about girl killed in child abuse case
The mother of a two-year-old girl, found dead in a Carthage home had just last week booked a flight to Joplin to pick up the girl and take her to her home in Hawaii as part of a shared custody agreement she had with the baby's father.
By John Hacker Posted Sep. 2, 2015 at 9:41 AM
The mother of a two-year-old girl, found dead in a Carthage home had just last week booked a flight to Joplin to pick up the girl and take her to her home in Hawaii as part of a shared custody agreement she had with the baby's father.
Frida Hoeft hadn't seen little Emalata Hoeft since March in California.
“That was the last time I gave her the last hug and her last kiss and told her I'd be back for her soon,” Frida Hoeft said in a telephone interview with The Carthage Press. “Now I'm going to be back for her in a casket. It really sucks.”
What happened
Emalata Hoeft was found dead when Carthage fire, ambulance and police were called to the home at 1915 Missouri St. shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday for a medical call about an unresponsive child.
Medical personnel determined the child was dead and the man and woman in the home, who turned out to be the child's biological father and his fiancé, were questioned by police after they determined there was reason to believe the child's death was not natural causes.
Tearra Diane Olson, 20, and Albert Steven O'Connor, 26, were arrested on Saturday. #Olson was charged with the class A felony abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, and is being held in the Jasper County Jail on a bond of $750,000 surety and $250,000 cash.
O'Connor was charged first degree endangering the welfare of a child and is being held on $200,000 bond cash or surety.
The probable cause affidavits, filed by Carthage police investigators to support the charges being sought against suspects, paint a picture of neglect turning into an explosion of physical abuse that resulted in the child's death.
CPD Det. Adam Blankenship said in the affidavit on O'Connor that O'Connor worked at the Butterball plant while Olson worked at Flex-o-Lators.
The affidavit alleges that O'Connor “left the two-year-old child at home alone while he and his fiancé were both at work, with no supervision and shut up in the child's bedroom with only a sippy cup of water to drink.”
The affidavit said this happened from 9 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. On Aug. 24, 25, 26 and 28.
The document also said a baby sitter who had cared for the child had not had her in her care since Aug. 21 because the babysitter was out of town.
Carthage Det. Ben Vogt wrote the affidavit in Olson's case.
He said officers were called to the home at 8:08 a.m. Saturday for the report of an unresponsive child.
He said officers contacted Olson and O'Connor and found the child dead in the back bedroom of the home.
“Tearra Diane Olson was later interviewed and disclosed to an officer that she struck (name redacted) head 3 times on a hard surface at approximately (6 p.m.) on Aug. 28, 015,” the affidavit said. “Olson stated she struck E.H. Due to her screaming, crying and refusing to eat her dinner. (Name redacted) was not breathing and Olson then placed (name redacted) in her bed and closed the door.”
Carthage Police Chief Greg Dagnan said O'Connor was apparently not home at the time that Olson is alleged to have struck the child's head on the hard surface.
A mother grieves
Frida Hoeft said her daughter was the love of her life and and a very happy child.
“She was just a happy baby,” Friday Hoeft said. “She loved to dance, she loved to put smiles on people's faces, she loved to just laugh out of nowhere, she loved to play. She just loved everybody. She never put a frown on nobody's face.”
Frida Hoeft said she met Steven O'Connor in California and they had a brief relationship before Emalata was born.
Hoeft grew up in Hawaii, where her family lives, and had moved to “the states” on two occasions after graduation, once in 2010 and then in 2012 when she met O'Connor.
Emalata was born in Sacramento and the relationship with O'Connor didn't last, but they were all living in California until early in 2015 when O'Connor announced he and his fiancé were moving to Missouri.
“Me and her father came to an agreement because he wanted to move to Carthage because his girlfriend, she apparently said her dad wanted them to move in,” Frida Hoeft said. “I said if you're going to move then I'm going to move with you or we're going to come to this agreement where we're going to share custody going back and forth with her. He said okay.”
The mother said O'Connor and Olson moved to Missouri and she returned to be with her family in Hawaii. Frida Hoeft said O'Connor and Olson moved to Carthage sometime in April and she tried to stay in contact with O'Connor, Olson and Emalata, but O'Connor made it difficult.
“They didn't keep me updated, Steven tends to give me attitude,” Hoeft said. “He doesn't want to tell me nothing and he'll lie to me about everything. He wasn't terribly honest with me. My whole family lives here and I was supposed to pick her up this Friday and I had just booked my flight. I was flying to Joplin.”
Now Frida Hoeft and her family are planning Emalata's funeral. Frieda said she plans to bury Emalata in a cemetery in Pearl City, Hawaii.
“I have family and friends and unknown people that I do not know are helping me by fundraising to bring her home and to help her have the funeral she deserves,” Frida said. “That's my main goal now, just to make sure she's back here and she's going to have the best funeral she can have because she needs a beautiful funeral just like how she was and still is. She still lives on in my life and everyone's life down here.”
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Non-custodial mom awarded $2 million by U.S. government; they failed to stop custodial dad in torture-murder of 5-year-old daughter (Atlanta, Georgia)
We've covered this case for many years. NAEEM WILLIAMS is on the Killer Dads and Custody list for Hawaii.
I hope this poor mother will be able to put this money to good use.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/2m-beating-death-girl-soldier-father-31317409
$2M for Beating Death of Girl, 5, by Former Soldier Father
HONOLULU — May 26, 2015, 5:47 PM ET
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press
The U.S. government will pay an Atlanta woman $2 million for the Hawaii beating death of her 5-year-old daughter at the hands of a former soldier. The settlement amount was announced Tuesday at a brief hearing in federal court in Honolulu.
Tarshia Williams filed the lawsuit against the government over the 2005 death of her daughter, Talia. The lawsuit, filed in Honolulu in 2008, claimed the military didn't report to the proper authorities that Talia's father and stepmother "abused and tortured" her throughout the seven months she lived in Army housing in Hawaii.
"I will never have complete closure because my daughter is gone," she said by phone after the hearing. "And all the abuse she went through, I will never get over that. My healing will never be complete."
In what was the first death penalty case to go to trial in the history of Hawaii's statehood, Naeem Williams was convicted of murder in his daughter's death and sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole.
Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, testified against her husband as part of a deal with prosecutors for a 20-year sentence. She provided disturbing details of abuse that included withholding food for days at a time, keeping her out of school to hide from others the physical signs of beatings and whipping the child while she was duct-taped to a bed.
Talia died July 16, 2005, after prosecutors say her father dealt a blow so hard it left knuckle imprints on her chest.
The settlement brings some relief because it ends years of litigation and prevents Tarshia Williams from having to return to Hawaii for a nonjury trial that was scheduled for June, she said.
"I just been through it last year," she said of testifying at the murder trial and sitting through graphic accounts of what Talia suffered. "I don't have to go through all the things that happened to her all over again. It will always be in my mind. It will never go away."
At Naeem Williams' trial, she testified that the last time she saw Talia was when the child left South Carolina to live with her father in Hawaii. She said the last time she spoke to Talia was by telephone on July 2, 2005.
The settlement has been approved by the Justice Department and will be paid in about six to eight weeks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Helper said in court. He declined to comment after the hearing.
Tarshia Williams and her Honolulu attorneys want to work on federal legislation that that would require the military to directly report child abuse to state child protective services, said one of her attorneys, Mark Davis.
"We hope that what may come out of this case are some fundamental, systemic changes," Davis said. "There were so many opportunities that were missed to try to remove this child from this toxic environment."
A judge's 2010 ruling noted some of those missed opportunities, including one on June 29, 2005. "The military police responded to the Williams' home, but despite finding Talia, 'naked and mute, in a room standing near feces on the floor' and thinking 'something did not look right,' no reports were ever made to CPS," said the order by U.S. District Judge Alan Kay in allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
"She would be about 15 now," Tarshia Williams said. "She would be in high school."
I hope this poor mother will be able to put this money to good use.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/2m-beating-death-girl-soldier-father-31317409
$2M for Beating Death of Girl, 5, by Former Soldier Father
HONOLULU — May 26, 2015, 5:47 PM ET
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press
The U.S. government will pay an Atlanta woman $2 million for the Hawaii beating death of her 5-year-old daughter at the hands of a former soldier. The settlement amount was announced Tuesday at a brief hearing in federal court in Honolulu.
Tarshia Williams filed the lawsuit against the government over the 2005 death of her daughter, Talia. The lawsuit, filed in Honolulu in 2008, claimed the military didn't report to the proper authorities that Talia's father and stepmother "abused and tortured" her throughout the seven months she lived in Army housing in Hawaii.
"I will never have complete closure because my daughter is gone," she said by phone after the hearing. "And all the abuse she went through, I will never get over that. My healing will never be complete."
In what was the first death penalty case to go to trial in the history of Hawaii's statehood, Naeem Williams was convicted of murder in his daughter's death and sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole.
Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, testified against her husband as part of a deal with prosecutors for a 20-year sentence. She provided disturbing details of abuse that included withholding food for days at a time, keeping her out of school to hide from others the physical signs of beatings and whipping the child while she was duct-taped to a bed.
Talia died July 16, 2005, after prosecutors say her father dealt a blow so hard it left knuckle imprints on her chest.
The settlement brings some relief because it ends years of litigation and prevents Tarshia Williams from having to return to Hawaii for a nonjury trial that was scheduled for June, she said.
"I just been through it last year," she said of testifying at the murder trial and sitting through graphic accounts of what Talia suffered. "I don't have to go through all the things that happened to her all over again. It will always be in my mind. It will never go away."
At Naeem Williams' trial, she testified that the last time she saw Talia was when the child left South Carolina to live with her father in Hawaii. She said the last time she spoke to Talia was by telephone on July 2, 2005.
The settlement has been approved by the Justice Department and will be paid in about six to eight weeks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Helper said in court. He declined to comment after the hearing.
Tarshia Williams and her Honolulu attorneys want to work on federal legislation that that would require the military to directly report child abuse to state child protective services, said one of her attorneys, Mark Davis.
"We hope that what may come out of this case are some fundamental, systemic changes," Davis said. "There were so many opportunities that were missed to try to remove this child from this toxic environment."
A judge's 2010 ruling noted some of those missed opportunities, including one on June 29, 2005. "The military police responded to the Williams' home, but despite finding Talia, 'naked and mute, in a room standing near feces on the floor' and thinking 'something did not look right,' no reports were ever made to CPS," said the order by U.S. District Judge Alan Kay in allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
"She would be about 15 now," Tarshia Williams said. "She would be in high school."
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Custodial dad gets life sentence for murder of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
We've been posting about NAEEM WILLIAMS for years, as this case has been going on for 10 LONG YEARS. This poor little girl died in 2005, just seven months after the father stripped the mother of custody. Clearly his interest wasn't in having quality parenting time, as he and the step basically tortured the girl from day one. As usual, it was all about power and control and punishing the mother.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/soldier-life-sentence-year-daughters-death-28781595
Ex-Soldier Gets Life Sentence in 5-Year-Old Daughter's Death
HONOLULU — Feb 6, 2015, 5:58 PM ET
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press
Calling it a sentence "cast in stone," a federal judge on Friday made it official that a former Hawaii-based soldier who avoided execution in his 5-year-old daughter's beating death must spend the rest of his life in prison.
U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright likened Naeem Williams' treatment of the girl to a "house of horrors" and said testimony from the trial still haunts those who heard it.
Williams' sentencing capped what was the first death penalty case to go to trial in Hawaii since it became a state. A jury deadlocked on his punishment, requiring Seabright to give him a life term.
Hawaii's territorial government abolished capital punishment in 1957. But the U.S. Department of Justice was able to seek the death penalty because the 2005 crime took place on military property, and the cased was tried in federal court, where the death penalty is possible even in states that don't allow it.
During a long and emotional trial last year, jurors heard graphic testimony — including from Williams — about how he and the girl's stepmother, Delilah Williams, beat the girl almost daily during the seven months she lived with them in Hawaii.
A federal prosecutor told jurors that the fatal blow the former soldier dealt daughter Talia was so hard it left knuckle imprints on the child's chest.
Naeem Williams testified he beat the girl often, partly because of her bathroom accidents.
Delilah Williams recounted stomping on Talia and other abuses, including withholding food for days. The stepmother was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year as part of a plea agreement.
Jurors who convicted Naeem Williams of murder were asked to decide his sentence — execution or life in prison without the possibility for release. They deliberated for about seven days before determining they were deadlocked.
Five of the jurors were at the sentencing. Two of them said afterward that they felt compelled to attend as closure after months of disturbing testimony that still haunts them.
"Anyone who sat through this trial will have lasting memories," Seabright said. "Memories that will be difficult to lose." #He recounted hearing how Talia was duct-taped to a bed and then beaten.
"I remember listening to that testimony and thinking this courthouse has never heard testimony like that before," Seabright said.
Jurors also heard about how Talia slept on the floor of a stripped-bare bedroom, received belt whippings and was left alone during the day in a home Seabright described as a "house of horrors."
"She was treated worse than any animal should ever be treated," the judge said.
Even though the sentence was a foregone conclusion, the hearing was more about Talia, he said: "This is really Talia's day, in many ways, for her voice to be heard and for her to receive justice ... almost 10 years after she was killed."
Naeem Williams declined to speak in court before the sentence was imposed.
During the sentencing phase of the case last year, Naeem Williams implored jurors to let him live, saying he wanted to be a better father to his two other children. The children also asked jurors to spare his life. One of his attorneys, John Philipsborn, said Naeem Williams doesn't intend to appeal. Doing so could expose him to another death penalty trial. Naeem Williams is asking to serve his sentence in a facility equipped to handle his diabetes.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/soldier-life-sentence-year-daughters-death-28781595
Ex-Soldier Gets Life Sentence in 5-Year-Old Daughter's Death
HONOLULU — Feb 6, 2015, 5:58 PM ET
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press
Calling it a sentence "cast in stone," a federal judge on Friday made it official that a former Hawaii-based soldier who avoided execution in his 5-year-old daughter's beating death must spend the rest of his life in prison.
U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright likened Naeem Williams' treatment of the girl to a "house of horrors" and said testimony from the trial still haunts those who heard it.
Williams' sentencing capped what was the first death penalty case to go to trial in Hawaii since it became a state. A jury deadlocked on his punishment, requiring Seabright to give him a life term.
Hawaii's territorial government abolished capital punishment in 1957. But the U.S. Department of Justice was able to seek the death penalty because the 2005 crime took place on military property, and the cased was tried in federal court, where the death penalty is possible even in states that don't allow it.
During a long and emotional trial last year, jurors heard graphic testimony — including from Williams — about how he and the girl's stepmother, Delilah Williams, beat the girl almost daily during the seven months she lived with them in Hawaii.
A federal prosecutor told jurors that the fatal blow the former soldier dealt daughter Talia was so hard it left knuckle imprints on the child's chest.
Naeem Williams testified he beat the girl often, partly because of her bathroom accidents.
Delilah Williams recounted stomping on Talia and other abuses, including withholding food for days. The stepmother was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year as part of a plea agreement.
Jurors who convicted Naeem Williams of murder were asked to decide his sentence — execution or life in prison without the possibility for release. They deliberated for about seven days before determining they were deadlocked.
Five of the jurors were at the sentencing. Two of them said afterward that they felt compelled to attend as closure after months of disturbing testimony that still haunts them.
"Anyone who sat through this trial will have lasting memories," Seabright said. "Memories that will be difficult to lose." #He recounted hearing how Talia was duct-taped to a bed and then beaten.
"I remember listening to that testimony and thinking this courthouse has never heard testimony like that before," Seabright said.
Jurors also heard about how Talia slept on the floor of a stripped-bare bedroom, received belt whippings and was left alone during the day in a home Seabright described as a "house of horrors."
"She was treated worse than any animal should ever be treated," the judge said.
Even though the sentence was a foregone conclusion, the hearing was more about Talia, he said: "This is really Talia's day, in many ways, for her voice to be heard and for her to receive justice ... almost 10 years after she was killed."
Naeem Williams declined to speak in court before the sentence was imposed.
During the sentencing phase of the case last year, Naeem Williams implored jurors to let him live, saying he wanted to be a better father to his two other children. The children also asked jurors to spare his life. One of his attorneys, John Philipsborn, said Naeem Williams doesn't intend to appeal. Doing so could expose him to another death penalty trial. Naeem Williams is asking to serve his sentence in a facility equipped to handle his diabetes.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Dad pleads no contest to murder of 3-year-old son; despite previous allegations of child abuse, dad still praised as "kind" and "loving" (Las Vegas, Nevada)
If there was a mother with a long history of child abuse allegations involving multiple fractures and unexplained SIDS death WHO then pleaded no contest to the murder of yet another child after apparently lying about the assault, she would be condemned as an evil monster not fit to live. But given the complete double standard, this POS is praised as "kind" and "loving." Kind and loving how? If this is how a "special person" behaves, I'll stick to non-special people, thanks.
And just why does this guy deserve mercy after all this?
Dad is identified as JONATHAN QUISANO.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/despite-mother-s-plea-man-sent-prison-death-son
Posted October 7, 2014 - 4:34pm
Updated October 7, 2014 - 5:00pm
Despite mother’s plea, man sent to prison in death of son
Jonathan Quisano, the 27-year-old father who pleaded no contest on murder charges in the death of his toddler son was sentenced to 10 to 30 years on Tuesday, October 7, 2014.
By DAVID FERRARA
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A 27-year-old Las Vegas father was sentenced to between 10 and 30 years in prison Tuesday in the death of his toddler son, despite a plea from the boy’s mother to keep her husband out of prison.
Jonathan Quisano, who moved to the valley from Hawaii shortly before his son died, pleaded guilty in June to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm.
Quisano faced murder charges in June 2013 after his 3-year-old son, Khayden Quisano, died at University Medical Center.
Khayden had been hospitalized after his mother called police to say the child had fallen in a northwest Las Vegas home while under Quisano’s care.
The father told police Khayden fell while playing on the back of a sofa, but authorities said the boy suffered head and internal injuries too severe to have been caused by a fall.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Staudaher said Khayden suffered “very violent” and “very significant” injuries.
At a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Quisano’s wife, Christina Rodrigues, called him a “kind, loving, caring, responsible father.”
She asked District Judge Valerie Adair to offer Quisano a chance at probation, saying she never witnessed Quisano abuse the boy.
“I not only lost one, but two very special people who I love dearly,” Rodrigues said. “Just don’t take him away forever.”
Staudaher said the death wasn’t the first time Quisano had been suspected of abusing Khayden. In 2010, while the family lived in Hawaii, doctors became concerned after noticing fractures on Khayden’s ribs and legs, Staudaher said.
Social workers in Hawaii kept track of Quisano for two years before the family moved to Las Vegas, Staudaher told the judge.
About two years before that, another of Quisano’s children suffered from sudden infant death syndrome at 3 months old, according to the prosecutor.
Deputy Public Defender Nancy Lemcke also argued for probation. A coroner had ruled the manner of Khayden’s death undetermined, she said.
“Not for one single secondary moment did he intend to hurt or certainly kill his own child,” Lemcke said. “If you believe that he inflicted these injuries, it’s an issue of succumbing to a single momentary lapse of patience. … Certainly if nothing else, everybody here agrees that what happened was not some preconceived plan on the part of Mr. Quisano, it wasn’t part of some systemic ongoing torture or abuse.”
Quisano told the judge he was “sorry” and would “do anything possible to get my life back on track.”
In handing down the sentence, Adair pointed to the allegations of previous abuse.
That investigation “if nothing else, put this defendant on notice as to what he should do,” Adair said. “If anything, he should have been more careful with this child than he was.”
The judge gave Quisano credit for 488 days served in the Clark County Detention Center, meaning he would first be eligible for parole in less than nine years.
And just why does this guy deserve mercy after all this?
Dad is identified as JONATHAN QUISANO.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/despite-mother-s-plea-man-sent-prison-death-son
Posted October 7, 2014 - 4:34pm
Updated October 7, 2014 - 5:00pm
Despite mother’s plea, man sent to prison in death of son
Jonathan Quisano, the 27-year-old father who pleaded no contest on murder charges in the death of his toddler son was sentenced to 10 to 30 years on Tuesday, October 7, 2014.
By DAVID FERRARA
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A 27-year-old Las Vegas father was sentenced to between 10 and 30 years in prison Tuesday in the death of his toddler son, despite a plea from the boy’s mother to keep her husband out of prison.
Jonathan Quisano, who moved to the valley from Hawaii shortly before his son died, pleaded guilty in June to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm.
Quisano faced murder charges in June 2013 after his 3-year-old son, Khayden Quisano, died at University Medical Center.
Khayden had been hospitalized after his mother called police to say the child had fallen in a northwest Las Vegas home while under Quisano’s care.
The father told police Khayden fell while playing on the back of a sofa, but authorities said the boy suffered head and internal injuries too severe to have been caused by a fall.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Staudaher said Khayden suffered “very violent” and “very significant” injuries.
At a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Quisano’s wife, Christina Rodrigues, called him a “kind, loving, caring, responsible father.”
She asked District Judge Valerie Adair to offer Quisano a chance at probation, saying she never witnessed Quisano abuse the boy.
“I not only lost one, but two very special people who I love dearly,” Rodrigues said. “Just don’t take him away forever.”
Staudaher said the death wasn’t the first time Quisano had been suspected of abusing Khayden. In 2010, while the family lived in Hawaii, doctors became concerned after noticing fractures on Khayden’s ribs and legs, Staudaher said.
Social workers in Hawaii kept track of Quisano for two years before the family moved to Las Vegas, Staudaher told the judge.
About two years before that, another of Quisano’s children suffered from sudden infant death syndrome at 3 months old, according to the prosecutor.
Deputy Public Defender Nancy Lemcke also argued for probation. A coroner had ruled the manner of Khayden’s death undetermined, she said.
“Not for one single secondary moment did he intend to hurt or certainly kill his own child,” Lemcke said. “If you believe that he inflicted these injuries, it’s an issue of succumbing to a single momentary lapse of patience. … Certainly if nothing else, everybody here agrees that what happened was not some preconceived plan on the part of Mr. Quisano, it wasn’t part of some systemic ongoing torture or abuse.”
Quisano told the judge he was “sorry” and would “do anything possible to get my life back on track.”
In handing down the sentence, Adair pointed to the allegations of previous abuse.
That investigation “if nothing else, put this defendant on notice as to what he should do,” Adair said. “If anything, he should have been more careful with this child than he was.”
The judge gave Quisano credit for 488 days served in the Clark County Detention Center, meaning he would first be eligible for parole in less than nine years.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Convicted custodial dad killer avoids death penaly thanks to stepmom's testimony (Honolulu, Hawaii)
So basically because the step was also a nasty piece of business, custodial dad and convicted killer NAEEM WILLIAMS is spared his life.
Notice how the media is now slicking over the process by which this POS was granted custody. There is a lot of back story that is not being told. Here is some of it from a previous 2005 article posted here:
Tarshia Williams [Talia's mother] said she is devastated, sad and angry over the death of her daughter, whom she last saw in December [2004]. "She was doing great, she was happy, she was joyful -- she was just being a little girl."
Although the girl's father was awarded custody that month, the plan approved by the courts said her daughter was to stay with her mother in South Carolina every summer beginning July 1.
But when July came around, the girl's father still hadn't sent the girl home.
"They had her bruised up, so they didn't send her," Williams said, citing reports of the girl's abuse. "I just can't believe they did all of that."
If they didn't want her daughter, they could have sent her back, she said. "I would have been glad to take her back."
The courts had placed the girl in her father's custody in part because she exhibited developmental delays and a failure to thrive while with her mother. Glenn Walters, Williams' attorney, said the girl didn't have a healthy appetite and her body didn't absorb nutrients effectively. But her condition continued even while with her father, Walters said.
Tarshia Williams said a court order was in also place allowing her to phone her daughter twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. But those calls eventually stopped. She filed papers in court to regain her court-ordered rights, but the matter is still pending.
See here for our previous coverage of this case.
http://thetandd.com/news/jurors-stepmom-s-role-helped-soldier-avoid-death-in-tot/article_183a7872-064a-11e4-bfea-0019bb2963f4.html
Jurors: Stepmom’s role helped soldier avoid death in tot’s slaying
2 hours ago • By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press
HONOLULU — Delilah Williams testified at her husband’s murder trial that she had stomped on her 5-year-old stepdaughter so hard that she heard bone crack.
She said she and her former soldier husband abused the girl regularly while they lived in Army housing in Hawaii, beating her with belts and withholding food for days.
Because of her testimony and a binding plea agreement, Williams will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, including nine years already served, in federal court in Honolulu on Tuesday, a prosecutor and her defense attorney said.
And her acknowledged role in the abuse helped keep her husband Naeem Williams from receiving the death penalty after he was convicted of murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
Jurors interviewed after the panel was unable to agree on a sentence in his trial said some of them partly blamed Delilah Williams for the death of Talia Williams. “She’s an evil person,” juror Clarence Kaona Jr. said. “It was because of her.”
Talia Williams was originally from Orangeburg, but was sent to live with her father after a family court hearing in December 2004.
Federal public defender Alexander Silvert, who represents Delilah Williams, had expected her guilty plea to a murder charge to have a major impact on the jury hearing the case against her husband. During the penalty phase of his trial, eight jurors wanted him executed; four sought life in prison.
“All along we thought that the deal the government struck with Delilah would be a very big factor for any juror in imposing the death penalty for Naeem,” Silvert said.
Some of the jurors planned to attend her sentencing.
“Hopefully that will give me some closure,” juror Kelle Mata said about traveling to the Honolulu courtroom from his home on Kauai to honor the young victim.
Jurors said they considered many different factors in reaching their individual decisions.
In the end, jurors agreed the decision before them involved Naeem Williams, not his wife, Mata said. “The bottom line came down to she didn’t do the last blow,” he said.
Prosecutors say Naeem Williams delivered a deadly punch on July 16, 2005, that left knuckle imprints on Talia’s chest. He testified that he beat her that day in part because she spit toothpaste all over the sink.
“I went for death,” Mata said, noting that he had considered testimony about childhood abuse of the defendant. “Though it was a hard decision because I understand his past of him being abused and him having a psycho wife ... had that influence.”
Fellow juror Betty Jane Auten said she considered the influence of Delilah Williams on her husband, “but Naeem could have stopped Delilah at any time from hurting his child.”
Some jurors said her plea deal was unfair.
“I just felt that was a done deal, we can’t change that,” Auten said. “We need to be focusing on his actions and what he did and didn’t do to protect his daughter.”
When jurors were finally able to discuss the case with each other, they unloaded their feelings about the horrible things done to the child.
“People were crying, screaming, just getting out all the emotion that we had to keep in for so long,” Mata said.
When Delilah Williams, 30, completes the remainder of her sentence, she’ll be about 40.
“Given her conduct (at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center), she’s probably not going to get a lot of good behavior credit,” Silvert said.
Notice how the media is now slicking over the process by which this POS was granted custody. There is a lot of back story that is not being told. Here is some of it from a previous 2005 article posted here:
Tarshia Williams [Talia's mother] said she is devastated, sad and angry over the death of her daughter, whom she last saw in December [2004]. "She was doing great, she was happy, she was joyful -- she was just being a little girl."
Although the girl's father was awarded custody that month, the plan approved by the courts said her daughter was to stay with her mother in South Carolina every summer beginning July 1.
But when July came around, the girl's father still hadn't sent the girl home.
"They had her bruised up, so they didn't send her," Williams said, citing reports of the girl's abuse. "I just can't believe they did all of that."
If they didn't want her daughter, they could have sent her back, she said. "I would have been glad to take her back."
The courts had placed the girl in her father's custody in part because she exhibited developmental delays and a failure to thrive while with her mother. Glenn Walters, Williams' attorney, said the girl didn't have a healthy appetite and her body didn't absorb nutrients effectively. But her condition continued even while with her father, Walters said.
Tarshia Williams said a court order was in also place allowing her to phone her daughter twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. But those calls eventually stopped. She filed papers in court to regain her court-ordered rights, but the matter is still pending.
See here for our previous coverage of this case.
http://thetandd.com/news/jurors-stepmom-s-role-helped-soldier-avoid-death-in-tot/article_183a7872-064a-11e4-bfea-0019bb2963f4.html
Jurors: Stepmom’s role helped soldier avoid death in tot’s slaying
2 hours ago • By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press
HONOLULU — Delilah Williams testified at her husband’s murder trial that she had stomped on her 5-year-old stepdaughter so hard that she heard bone crack.
She said she and her former soldier husband abused the girl regularly while they lived in Army housing in Hawaii, beating her with belts and withholding food for days.
Because of her testimony and a binding plea agreement, Williams will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, including nine years already served, in federal court in Honolulu on Tuesday, a prosecutor and her defense attorney said.
And her acknowledged role in the abuse helped keep her husband Naeem Williams from receiving the death penalty after he was convicted of murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
Jurors interviewed after the panel was unable to agree on a sentence in his trial said some of them partly blamed Delilah Williams for the death of Talia Williams. “She’s an evil person,” juror Clarence Kaona Jr. said. “It was because of her.”
Talia Williams was originally from Orangeburg, but was sent to live with her father after a family court hearing in December 2004.
Federal public defender Alexander Silvert, who represents Delilah Williams, had expected her guilty plea to a murder charge to have a major impact on the jury hearing the case against her husband. During the penalty phase of his trial, eight jurors wanted him executed; four sought life in prison.
“All along we thought that the deal the government struck with Delilah would be a very big factor for any juror in imposing the death penalty for Naeem,” Silvert said.
Some of the jurors planned to attend her sentencing.
“Hopefully that will give me some closure,” juror Kelle Mata said about traveling to the Honolulu courtroom from his home on Kauai to honor the young victim.
Jurors said they considered many different factors in reaching their individual decisions.
In the end, jurors agreed the decision before them involved Naeem Williams, not his wife, Mata said. “The bottom line came down to she didn’t do the last blow,” he said.
Prosecutors say Naeem Williams delivered a deadly punch on July 16, 2005, that left knuckle imprints on Talia’s chest. He testified that he beat her that day in part because she spit toothpaste all over the sink.
“I went for death,” Mata said, noting that he had considered testimony about childhood abuse of the defendant. “Though it was a hard decision because I understand his past of him being abused and him having a psycho wife ... had that influence.”
Fellow juror Betty Jane Auten said she considered the influence of Delilah Williams on her husband, “but Naeem could have stopped Delilah at any time from hurting his child.”
Some jurors said her plea deal was unfair.
“I just felt that was a done deal, we can’t change that,” Auten said. “We need to be focusing on his actions and what he did and didn’t do to protect his daughter.”
When jurors were finally able to discuss the case with each other, they unloaded their feelings about the horrible things done to the child.
“People were crying, screaming, just getting out all the emotion that we had to keep in for so long,” Mata said.
When Delilah Williams, 30, completes the remainder of her sentence, she’ll be about 40.
“Given her conduct (at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center), she’s probably not going to get a lot of good behavior credit,” Silvert said.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Dad jumps off 2nd-story balcony with 11-month-old baby; charged with misdemeanor (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Dad is identified as ZELIG PICKERING.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/zelig-pickering-jumps-from-balcony_n_5501486.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
Man Jumps From Balcony With Baby On Father's Day: Cops
The Huffington Post | By Carla Herreria
Posted: 06/17/2014 8:36 am EDT Updated: 06/17/2014 8:59 am EDT
A 35-year-old man faces criminal charges after allegedly jumping from the balcony of a second-story Honolulu apartment building on Father's Day while holding an 11-month-old baby.
Zelig Pickering, who is believed to be the father of the baby, was charged Monday with endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Responders were on the scene Sunday after receiving reports of a baby crying on the second-floor balcony of the three-story apartment building, according to KHON2. After authorities tried knocking on the front door of the apartment, witnesses say they saw Pickering on the balcony holding the baby.
"He was up there and he straddled that wall," Darrel Aki, a witness and local resident, told KHON2. "When he straddled that wall, he jumped down and I guess he was trying to land on [the wall below]... He hit that wall and then he fell [on his back] with the baby."
After jumping, witnesses said Pickering left the baby on the floor and ran away, according to Hawaii News Now. Several witnesses chased after him and held him down until police arrived.
Pickering was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The baby was miraculously unharmed in the fall.
A neighbor told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Pickering had only recently moved into the apartment building with his wife and baby.
He was initially arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault -- a felony -- but because the baby was not injured, he was charged with the misdemeanor instead. At this time, it is unclear why Pickering chose to run away from authorities instead of answering their calls at his front door.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/zelig-pickering-jumps-from-balcony_n_5501486.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
Man Jumps From Balcony With Baby On Father's Day: Cops
The Huffington Post | By Carla Herreria
Posted: 06/17/2014 8:36 am EDT Updated: 06/17/2014 8:59 am EDT
A 35-year-old man faces criminal charges after allegedly jumping from the balcony of a second-story Honolulu apartment building on Father's Day while holding an 11-month-old baby.
Zelig Pickering, who is believed to be the father of the baby, was charged Monday with endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Responders were on the scene Sunday after receiving reports of a baby crying on the second-floor balcony of the three-story apartment building, according to KHON2. After authorities tried knocking on the front door of the apartment, witnesses say they saw Pickering on the balcony holding the baby.
"He was up there and he straddled that wall," Darrel Aki, a witness and local resident, told KHON2. "When he straddled that wall, he jumped down and I guess he was trying to land on [the wall below]... He hit that wall and then he fell [on his back] with the baby."
After jumping, witnesses said Pickering left the baby on the floor and ran away, according to Hawaii News Now. Several witnesses chased after him and held him down until police arrived.
Pickering was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The baby was miraculously unharmed in the fall.
A neighbor told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Pickering had only recently moved into the apartment building with his wife and baby.
He was initially arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault -- a felony -- but because the baby was not injured, he was charged with the misdemeanor instead. At this time, it is unclear why Pickering chose to run away from authorities instead of answering their calls at his front door.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Convicted killer and custodial father pleads for his life (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Horrible reporting by AP. Notice how they "forget" to mention that this vicious piece of sh** was a CUSTODIAL FATHER, and gained custody despite a long history of domestic violence.
Notice how the attempts to manipulate the surviving children is reported--in an effort to generate sympathy for NAEEM WILLIAMS? Disgusting.
See our past coverage on this case.
http://news.yahoo.com/ex-soldier-apologizes-fatally-beating-daughter-013859263.html
Ex-soldier apologizes for fatally beating daughter
Associated Press
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
14 hours ago
HONOLULU (AP) — A former soldier facing the death penalty for the murder of his 5-year-old daughter apologized in court Wednesday and asked jurors to let him live.
Naeem Williams stood at a podium facing jurors and read a statement punctuated with long pauses and sniffles. The jury that convicted him of capital murder in April will determine if he's sentenced to death or life in prison for the 2005 beating death.
"Talia deserved a better father than me," he said. "Instead of helping and protecting Talia, I hurt and I killed her."
Most of the jurors didn't seem to show any reaction. One juror looked at the ceiling for most of the statement. They previously heard him testify that while he was stationed in Hawaii, he and Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, beat the child almost daily. He said he was disciplining her for bathroom accidents and because of frustrations he was experiencing in his marriage.
If Naeem Williams is sentenced to death, it will be the first time in the history of Hawaii's statehood because territorial leaders abolished capital punishment in 1957. But because the crime occurred on military property, the case is in federal court, where the death penalty is available.
Williams said he wants the chance to be a better father to his two other children, an 11-year-old son who lives in Georgia and a 9-year-old daughter who lives in Tennessee.
The children testified Wednesday that they enjoy their relationship with him even though he's incarcerated thousands of miles away in Hawaii.
His daughter was born in Hawaii and was an infant when Talia was killed. She said she's visited him at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center — the same facility where her mother is incarcerated because she pleaded guilty to her role in Talia's death. Delilah Williams testified against her husband as part of a deal for a 20-year sentence.
Naeem Williams testified previously that he delayed calling 911 when Talia didn't get up from one of his blows. He said he and his wife fretted over making sure a relative could pick up the infant.
The girl said she talks to her dad on the phone every Sunday and emails with him.
The boy said he talks to his father three to five times a month and emails with him a couple times a month.
They discuss what he wants for his birthday or Christmas, he said.
"We talk about a lot of stuff. We might talk about maybe who's playing basketball or who's your favorite team," the soon-to-be-sixth-grader said. "We talk about stuff like that."
The boy broke down in tears when asked about how he feels about his father. "I love my dad," he said. "I really need him."
Notice how the attempts to manipulate the surviving children is reported--in an effort to generate sympathy for NAEEM WILLIAMS? Disgusting.
See our past coverage on this case.
http://news.yahoo.com/ex-soldier-apologizes-fatally-beating-daughter-013859263.html
Ex-soldier apologizes for fatally beating daughter
Associated Press
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
14 hours ago
HONOLULU (AP) — A former soldier facing the death penalty for the murder of his 5-year-old daughter apologized in court Wednesday and asked jurors to let him live.
Naeem Williams stood at a podium facing jurors and read a statement punctuated with long pauses and sniffles. The jury that convicted him of capital murder in April will determine if he's sentenced to death or life in prison for the 2005 beating death.
"Talia deserved a better father than me," he said. "Instead of helping and protecting Talia, I hurt and I killed her."
Most of the jurors didn't seem to show any reaction. One juror looked at the ceiling for most of the statement. They previously heard him testify that while he was stationed in Hawaii, he and Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, beat the child almost daily. He said he was disciplining her for bathroom accidents and because of frustrations he was experiencing in his marriage.
If Naeem Williams is sentenced to death, it will be the first time in the history of Hawaii's statehood because territorial leaders abolished capital punishment in 1957. But because the crime occurred on military property, the case is in federal court, where the death penalty is available.
Williams said he wants the chance to be a better father to his two other children, an 11-year-old son who lives in Georgia and a 9-year-old daughter who lives in Tennessee.
The children testified Wednesday that they enjoy their relationship with him even though he's incarcerated thousands of miles away in Hawaii.
His daughter was born in Hawaii and was an infant when Talia was killed. She said she's visited him at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center — the same facility where her mother is incarcerated because she pleaded guilty to her role in Talia's death. Delilah Williams testified against her husband as part of a deal for a 20-year sentence.
Naeem Williams testified previously that he delayed calling 911 when Talia didn't get up from one of his blows. He said he and his wife fretted over making sure a relative could pick up the infant.
The girl said she talks to her dad on the phone every Sunday and emails with him.
The boy said he talks to his father three to five times a month and emails with him a couple times a month.
They discuss what he wants for his birthday or Christmas, he said.
"We talk about a lot of stuff. We might talk about maybe who's playing basketball or who's your favorite team," the soon-to-be-sixth-grader said. "We talk about stuff like that."
The boy broke down in tears when asked about how he feels about his father. "I love my dad," he said. "I really need him."
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Custodial dad found guilty in 2005 torture-murder of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
After nine long years, this little girl and her non-custodial mother finally have justice. Her custodial father, an utterly vicious killer, has been convicted in her murder.
Now we wait and see whether NAEEM WILLIAMS gets the death penalty.
There is a long history behind this case. Dad NEVER should have been awarded custody, and there was ample evidence even at the time to demonstrate that. But the idiots in the judiciary who granted this man custody--only for him to torture her until she finally expired--will never face THEIR crimes.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ex-soldier-convicted-5-year-old-daughter-beating-death-hawaii-base-article-1.1768240
Ex-soldier convicted in 5-year-old daughter’s beating death on Hawaii base
Naeem Williams committed the capital offense in a state that doesn't have the death penalty. But because he was on military property, he could still be executed for the heinous 2005 murder.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/ Thursday, April 24, 2014, 7:29 PM .
Former Hawaii soldier Naeem Williams, was convicted of the 2005 murder of his 5-year-old daughter Talia. It's a capital offense in a state that doesn't have the death penalty.
HONOLULU — A federal jury on Thursday convicted a former Hawaii soldier of murder in the beating death of his 5-year-old daughter, a capital offense in a state that doesn’t have the death penalty.
Jurors in Honolulu will now be asked to decide during a penalty phase whether to sentence Naeem Williams to death for killing Talia Williams.
Hawaii abolished capital punishment in 1957. But Williams still faces a possible death sentence because the crime occurred on military property, and he is being tried in the federal system.
The jury found Naeem Williams guilty of all five counts: murder, aiding murder, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
The victim’s biological mother, Tarshia Williams, said she was happy with the verdict.
“She can rest now that her killer is guilty of what he did to her,” said Tarshia Williams, who is not married to the defendant but has the same last name because they are distant relatives. “Now my daughter can rest in peace despite all the pain she went through.”
When asked whether Naeem Williams should be put to death, she paused, gathered herself and said: “Whatever they decide.”
The trial’s sentencing phase starts Tuesday.
Naeem Williams’ lawyers left the courthouse without commenting. They had argued in his defense that while Naeem Williams beat Talia, it was unclear whether he caused her July 2005 death.
The trial lasted nearly two months and was filled with graphic testimony about abuses suffered by the child at the hands of her father and stepmother.
Naeem Williams and his wife, Delilah Williams, have acknowledged beating, confining and restraining the girl in the seven months before her death.
Delilah Williams also is charged with murder. She testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal that calls for a 20-year prison term, but she has not yet been sentenced. She told jurors she once stomped Talia until she felt bone crack.
Naeem Williams testified earlier this month that he beat his daughter often because of her bathroom accidents and because he was taking out his marital frustrations on the child.
He told the jury of seven men and five women that the day Talia died, he had punched her repeatedly after a night of drinking. He struck her so hard in the back that she hit her head on the floor and appeared to have a seizure, he said.
Tarshia Williams, who sat through the entire trial in the courtroom, said she attended every day because her daughter was alone when she went through the abuse.
“I did it for her,” she said.
Hawaii’s history with capital punishment predates statehood. There have been 49 executions in Hawaii, the first in 1856 and the last recorded in 1944, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The last time the federal death penalty was approved for a Hawaii case was for a drug-related murder. However, the defendant took a plea deal that gave him a life sentence, then died of an apparent suicide about three months later.
Now we wait and see whether NAEEM WILLIAMS gets the death penalty.
There is a long history behind this case. Dad NEVER should have been awarded custody, and there was ample evidence even at the time to demonstrate that. But the idiots in the judiciary who granted this man custody--only for him to torture her until she finally expired--will never face THEIR crimes.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ex-soldier-convicted-5-year-old-daughter-beating-death-hawaii-base-article-1.1768240
Ex-soldier convicted in 5-year-old daughter’s beating death on Hawaii base
Naeem Williams committed the capital offense in a state that doesn't have the death penalty. But because he was on military property, he could still be executed for the heinous 2005 murder.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/ Thursday, April 24, 2014, 7:29 PM .
Former Hawaii soldier Naeem Williams, was convicted of the 2005 murder of his 5-year-old daughter Talia. It's a capital offense in a state that doesn't have the death penalty.
HONOLULU — A federal jury on Thursday convicted a former Hawaii soldier of murder in the beating death of his 5-year-old daughter, a capital offense in a state that doesn’t have the death penalty.
Jurors in Honolulu will now be asked to decide during a penalty phase whether to sentence Naeem Williams to death for killing Talia Williams.
Hawaii abolished capital punishment in 1957. But Williams still faces a possible death sentence because the crime occurred on military property, and he is being tried in the federal system.
The jury found Naeem Williams guilty of all five counts: murder, aiding murder, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
The victim’s biological mother, Tarshia Williams, said she was happy with the verdict.
“She can rest now that her killer is guilty of what he did to her,” said Tarshia Williams, who is not married to the defendant but has the same last name because they are distant relatives. “Now my daughter can rest in peace despite all the pain she went through.”
When asked whether Naeem Williams should be put to death, she paused, gathered herself and said: “Whatever they decide.”
The trial’s sentencing phase starts Tuesday.
Naeem Williams’ lawyers left the courthouse without commenting. They had argued in his defense that while Naeem Williams beat Talia, it was unclear whether he caused her July 2005 death.
The trial lasted nearly two months and was filled with graphic testimony about abuses suffered by the child at the hands of her father and stepmother.
Naeem Williams and his wife, Delilah Williams, have acknowledged beating, confining and restraining the girl in the seven months before her death.
Delilah Williams also is charged with murder. She testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal that calls for a 20-year prison term, but she has not yet been sentenced. She told jurors she once stomped Talia until she felt bone crack.
Naeem Williams testified earlier this month that he beat his daughter often because of her bathroom accidents and because he was taking out his marital frustrations on the child.
He told the jury of seven men and five women that the day Talia died, he had punched her repeatedly after a night of drinking. He struck her so hard in the back that she hit her head on the floor and appeared to have a seizure, he said.
Tarshia Williams, who sat through the entire trial in the courtroom, said she attended every day because her daughter was alone when she went through the abuse.
“I did it for her,” she said.
Hawaii’s history with capital punishment predates statehood. There have been 49 executions in Hawaii, the first in 1856 and the last recorded in 1944, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The last time the federal death penalty was approved for a Hawaii case was for a drug-related murder. However, the defendant took a plea deal that gave him a life sentence, then died of an apparent suicide about three months later.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Jury begins deliberating in trial of custodial dad charged with torture-murder of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
We've posted on this case many times. The dad is identified as NAEEM WILLIAMS.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140423_Jury_begins_deliberating_in_Williams_capital_murder_trial.html
Jury begins deliberating in Williams capital murder trial
By Star Advertiser staff
POSTED: 09:51 a.m. HST, Apr 23, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 09:54 a.m. HST, Apr 23, 2014
The jury in the Naeem Williams capital murder trial started deliberations in U.S. District Court in Honolulu this morning, the first death penalty case in state history.
Williams, 34, a former Schofield Barracks soldier, is charged with capital murder for killing his 5-year-old daughter, Talia, on July 16, 2005, through child abuse. He is also charged with capital murder for killing Talia over a seven-month period through assault and torture.
A guilty verdict to either capital offense moves the trial to the penalty phase in which the jurors must decide whether or not Williams deserves the death penalty after listening to more testimony.
The jurors began deliberations after a nearly six-week trial that included excruciating details of the abuse and injuries suffered by Talia at the hands of her father and stepmother, both of whom admitted to routinely beating the child.
Hawaii has not had the death penalty on its law books since the territorial Legislature abolished it before statehood in 1959. And even though capital punishment remains under federal law, no other federal defendant has stood trial in Hawaii since then for a death penalty offense.
Federal prosecutors say on the day Talia died, Williams hit his daughter in the chest causing her to fall backward and hit her head on the concrete floor of the family's military quarters at Wheeler Army Airfield. Talia never got up and was pronounced dead at Wahiawa General Hospital less than three hours later. They say the blow to the chest also separated Talia's left shoulder.
The Honolulu medical examiner who performed the autopsy said Talia died from her head hitting the floor.
The government says Williams and his wife Delilah also killed Talia by subjecting her to months of assault and torture.
Williams testified he hit his daughter with a belt and with his fist almost every day, sometimes knocking her out, shoved his daughter to the floor and into walls, beat her after binding her head-to-toe with duct tape to a bedpost, deprived Talia of food and forced her to perform physically exhausting exercises. He said he saw his wife kick Talia and slam her head into the floor.
Delilah, 30, testified she too hit her stepdaughter with a belt, including in the face, stomped on her, slammed Talia's head into a wall, pulled out clumps of her hair and also beat Talia after duct-taping her to a bedpost. She pleaded guilty in 2006 to killing Talia through assault and torture in exchange for a 20-year prison term.
In closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutor Steven Mellin said each stood by as the other beat the girl. "It was like they were trying to outdo each other," he said.
Williams testified he did hit his daughter on the day Talia died but his lawyers say Williams did not kill his daughter because the injuries that Delilah inflicted are what lead to Talia's death.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140423_Jury_begins_deliberating_in_Williams_capital_murder_trial.html
Jury begins deliberating in Williams capital murder trial
By Star Advertiser staff
POSTED: 09:51 a.m. HST, Apr 23, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 09:54 a.m. HST, Apr 23, 2014
The jury in the Naeem Williams capital murder trial started deliberations in U.S. District Court in Honolulu this morning, the first death penalty case in state history.
Williams, 34, a former Schofield Barracks soldier, is charged with capital murder for killing his 5-year-old daughter, Talia, on July 16, 2005, through child abuse. He is also charged with capital murder for killing Talia over a seven-month period through assault and torture.
A guilty verdict to either capital offense moves the trial to the penalty phase in which the jurors must decide whether or not Williams deserves the death penalty after listening to more testimony.
The jurors began deliberations after a nearly six-week trial that included excruciating details of the abuse and injuries suffered by Talia at the hands of her father and stepmother, both of whom admitted to routinely beating the child.
Hawaii has not had the death penalty on its law books since the territorial Legislature abolished it before statehood in 1959. And even though capital punishment remains under federal law, no other federal defendant has stood trial in Hawaii since then for a death penalty offense.
Federal prosecutors say on the day Talia died, Williams hit his daughter in the chest causing her to fall backward and hit her head on the concrete floor of the family's military quarters at Wheeler Army Airfield. Talia never got up and was pronounced dead at Wahiawa General Hospital less than three hours later. They say the blow to the chest also separated Talia's left shoulder.
The Honolulu medical examiner who performed the autopsy said Talia died from her head hitting the floor.
The government says Williams and his wife Delilah also killed Talia by subjecting her to months of assault and torture.
Williams testified he hit his daughter with a belt and with his fist almost every day, sometimes knocking her out, shoved his daughter to the floor and into walls, beat her after binding her head-to-toe with duct tape to a bedpost, deprived Talia of food and forced her to perform physically exhausting exercises. He said he saw his wife kick Talia and slam her head into the floor.
Delilah, 30, testified she too hit her stepdaughter with a belt, including in the face, stomped on her, slammed Talia's head into a wall, pulled out clumps of her hair and also beat Talia after duct-taping her to a bedpost. She pleaded guilty in 2006 to killing Talia through assault and torture in exchange for a 20-year prison term.
In closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutor Steven Mellin said each stood by as the other beat the girl. "It was like they were trying to outdo each other," he said.
Williams testified he did hit his daughter on the day Talia died but his lawyers say Williams did not kill his daughter because the injuries that Delilah inflicted are what lead to Talia's death.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Custodial dad on trial for torture-murder of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
More from the trial of custodial dad NAEEM WILLIAMS, a father who never should have been granted any custodial rights at all. Truly a sick piece of sh**.
http://www.examiner.com/article/ex-soldier-s-capital-murder-trial-for-torture-death-of-daughter-continues
Ex-soldier's capital murder trial for torture death of daughter continues
Ex-soldier tortures and murders daughter
Hawaii's first death penalty trial
Hawaii-News-Now
Kaeley Glasco
Honolulu Crime Examiner
April 5, 2014
The capital murder trial of ex-soldier Naeem Williams from South Carolina, continues in Hawaii, with keynote testimony related to the timeline and cause of death of 5-year-old Talia Williams. Williams is on trial in Hawaii's first death penalty case, for the torture-murder of his daughter.
According to the April 4, report by the Star Advertiser, Pediatric forensic pathologist Janice Ophoven said Talia died from complications of blunt force trauma to her head, chest and abdomen that occurred weeks before she died. "She did not suffer fatal injuries on the day of death," Ophoven said.
Naeem Williams, 34, had previously testified that on the day of Talia's death he hit his daughter in the back causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor of his Wheeler Army Airfield family quarters. He said Talia never got up from the fall and later died.
The discovery of the timeline of the child's death not directly linked to the assault by Williams, on the day of her death, may play a role in whether Williams' trial will end in a death sentence conviction for Williams.
In a plea deal for a flat 20-year jail term, Delilah Williams, step-mother to Talia, testified to joint torture of the child with her husband and her own individual attacks against the child, in the weeks and months prior to the child's death.
Delilah Williams testified that she and Naeem " bound the girl to a bedpost with duct tape before beating her with a belt. In one of those taping incidents, she said, she recalled the child having a "pleading look."
The stepmother said she attempted the taping routine once herself but found it wasn't effective because the girl was still able to squirm around.
"It required too much effort, also, so I decided not to do it again," she said.
She said that she and the father repeatedly cursed at Talia, called her names and hit her almost daily. Williams said she came home from work that day and saw that Talia had wet herself.
"I started stomping on her," she said. "I just continued stomping on her until it felt like a bone cracked under my foot and she defecated on herself." She forced the child to sit on a toilet and pushed on her stomach so hard that a toilet pipe broke, causing a leak. She said she then grabbed Talia by the hair and slammed her head against a wall."
It wasn't the first time she grabbed the child by the hair, she said, describing a time when she pulled Talia by the hair at the top of her head because she was slow going up the stairs. "A big chunk of her hair" came out, she said.
She also described another incident when her husband punched the child in the stomach for eating a doughnut. The girl wasn't allowed to go downstairs to eat while she was home alone, Delilah Williams said.
The end result of the child's death may be unclear as to which attacks on the child, and by which parent, culminated in the child's death. The trial continues.
http://www.examiner.com/article/ex-soldier-s-capital-murder-trial-for-torture-death-of-daughter-continues
Ex-soldier's capital murder trial for torture death of daughter continues
Ex-soldier tortures and murders daughter
Hawaii's first death penalty trial
Hawaii-News-Now
Kaeley Glasco
Honolulu Crime Examiner
April 5, 2014
The capital murder trial of ex-soldier Naeem Williams from South Carolina, continues in Hawaii, with keynote testimony related to the timeline and cause of death of 5-year-old Talia Williams. Williams is on trial in Hawaii's first death penalty case, for the torture-murder of his daughter.
According to the April 4, report by the Star Advertiser, Pediatric forensic pathologist Janice Ophoven said Talia died from complications of blunt force trauma to her head, chest and abdomen that occurred weeks before she died. "She did not suffer fatal injuries on the day of death," Ophoven said.
Naeem Williams, 34, had previously testified that on the day of Talia's death he hit his daughter in the back causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor of his Wheeler Army Airfield family quarters. He said Talia never got up from the fall and later died.
The discovery of the timeline of the child's death not directly linked to the assault by Williams, on the day of her death, may play a role in whether Williams' trial will end in a death sentence conviction for Williams.
In a plea deal for a flat 20-year jail term, Delilah Williams, step-mother to Talia, testified to joint torture of the child with her husband and her own individual attacks against the child, in the weeks and months prior to the child's death.
Delilah Williams testified that she and Naeem " bound the girl to a bedpost with duct tape before beating her with a belt. In one of those taping incidents, she said, she recalled the child having a "pleading look."
The stepmother said she attempted the taping routine once herself but found it wasn't effective because the girl was still able to squirm around.
"It required too much effort, also, so I decided not to do it again," she said.
She said that she and the father repeatedly cursed at Talia, called her names and hit her almost daily. Williams said she came home from work that day and saw that Talia had wet herself.
"I started stomping on her," she said. "I just continued stomping on her until it felt like a bone cracked under my foot and she defecated on herself." She forced the child to sit on a toilet and pushed on her stomach so hard that a toilet pipe broke, causing a leak. She said she then grabbed Talia by the hair and slammed her head against a wall."
It wasn't the first time she grabbed the child by the hair, she said, describing a time when she pulled Talia by the hair at the top of her head because she was slow going up the stairs. "A big chunk of her hair" came out, she said.
She also described another incident when her husband punched the child in the stomach for eating a doughnut. The girl wasn't allowed to go downstairs to eat while she was home alone, Delilah Williams said.
The end result of the child's death may be unclear as to which attacks on the child, and by which parent, culminated in the child's death. The trial continues.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Judge at capital murder trial for custodial dad says dad's testimony was coached (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Talk about killer daddy coddling. It took 9 YEARS to even get custodial dad NAEEM WILLIAMS to trial. And yes, he does sound coached. Give this guy an Academy Award. It's all lies...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/02/naeem-williams-testimony_n_5080348.html
Judge Warns Naeem Williams In Capital Murder Trial, Suspects Testimony Was Coached
AP | by JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Posted: 04/02/2014 8:09 pm EDT Updated: 04/03/2014 6:30 pm EDT
HONOLULU (AP) -- The judge presiding over the capital murder trial of a former Hawaii-based soldier accused of killing his 5-year-old daughter said Wednesday that it seems he was coached on how to testify. Naeem Williams returned to the witness stand to talk about beating his daughter Talia with a plastic ruler and a belt. Williams says he disciplined her for bathroom accidents.
When Williams started reflecting on what would have happened if he didn't bring Talia to live with him in Hawaii, the prosecution objected and U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright quickly sent the jury out of the courtroom.
Seabright said "retrospective testimony" is "very prejudicial to the government."
Williams had also testified that Talia came to live with him during a "chaotic" time in his marriage to the girl's stepmother, Delilah Williams.
"It seems to me he was coached to these things," Seabright said, noting that Williams' testimony mirrors what defense attorney John Philipsborn said in his opening statement.
Williams is being tried in federal court, which allows for him to face the death penalty even though Hawaii doesn't have capital punishment.
He spoke haltingly, looked down often and sounded like he was crying during his testimony. It's a marked difference from the testimony of his wife, who spoke clearly in detailing physical abuse they inflicted on Talia before she died in July 2005. Delilah Williams testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal for a 20-year sentence.
Prosecutors say it was the former soldier who dealt a fatal blow so hard it left knuckle impressions on the child's chest.
During opening statements, Philipsborn said Talia came into the couple's lives as they were battling marital problems, and they weren't equipped to care for her.
Williams said he used the ruler and belt because that's how he was disciplined as a child by his aunt and father. But the beatings Talia received were much more severe, he said: "I got whipped a lot but not as much as Talia did."
He said he eventually started using his hands to hit Talia in the back and chest. He said he also shoved her down, sometimes so hard she would remain on the ground and have "seizure-like motions."
On Tuesday, Williams testified that he sought custody of his daughter Talia out of a sense of obligation after his grandmother grew too ill to continue caring for her in South Carolina. He said that before he got custody of Talia, he had never fed a child or spent any significant time alone with a child.
He said Wednesday that his wife suggested they send her back, but Williams said they couldn't because of the signs of abuse on Talia's body. "There was no way we could send her back the way she was," he said.
Williams also testified about withholding food from his daughter and removing all furniture from her room as other forms of punishment.
After a lunch break, he was expected to testify about the day she died.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/02/naeem-williams-testimony_n_5080348.html
Judge Warns Naeem Williams In Capital Murder Trial, Suspects Testimony Was Coached
AP | by JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Posted: 04/02/2014 8:09 pm EDT Updated: 04/03/2014 6:30 pm EDT
HONOLULU (AP) -- The judge presiding over the capital murder trial of a former Hawaii-based soldier accused of killing his 5-year-old daughter said Wednesday that it seems he was coached on how to testify. Naeem Williams returned to the witness stand to talk about beating his daughter Talia with a plastic ruler and a belt. Williams says he disciplined her for bathroom accidents.
When Williams started reflecting on what would have happened if he didn't bring Talia to live with him in Hawaii, the prosecution objected and U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright quickly sent the jury out of the courtroom.
Seabright said "retrospective testimony" is "very prejudicial to the government."
Williams had also testified that Talia came to live with him during a "chaotic" time in his marriage to the girl's stepmother, Delilah Williams.
"It seems to me he was coached to these things," Seabright said, noting that Williams' testimony mirrors what defense attorney John Philipsborn said in his opening statement.
Williams is being tried in federal court, which allows for him to face the death penalty even though Hawaii doesn't have capital punishment.
He spoke haltingly, looked down often and sounded like he was crying during his testimony. It's a marked difference from the testimony of his wife, who spoke clearly in detailing physical abuse they inflicted on Talia before she died in July 2005. Delilah Williams testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal for a 20-year sentence.
Prosecutors say it was the former soldier who dealt a fatal blow so hard it left knuckle impressions on the child's chest.
During opening statements, Philipsborn said Talia came into the couple's lives as they were battling marital problems, and they weren't equipped to care for her.
Williams said he used the ruler and belt because that's how he was disciplined as a child by his aunt and father. But the beatings Talia received were much more severe, he said: "I got whipped a lot but not as much as Talia did."
He said he eventually started using his hands to hit Talia in the back and chest. He said he also shoved her down, sometimes so hard she would remain on the ground and have "seizure-like motions."
On Tuesday, Williams testified that he sought custody of his daughter Talia out of a sense of obligation after his grandmother grew too ill to continue caring for her in South Carolina. He said that before he got custody of Talia, he had never fed a child or spent any significant time alone with a child.
He said Wednesday that his wife suggested they send her back, but Williams said they couldn't because of the signs of abuse on Talia's body. "There was no way we could send her back the way she was," he said.
Williams also testified about withholding food from his daughter and removing all furniture from her room as other forms of punishment.
After a lunch break, he was expected to testify about the day she died.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Custodial dad showed no remorse for beating death of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
There is a long back story on NAEEM WILLIAMS and the way he viciously stripped this girl's mother of custody and then cut off all contact. The authorities in the Army also ignored the consistent evidence of child abuse.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140320_Investigator_testifies_father_expressed_no_remorse_after_beating_death.html
Investigator says father expressed no remorse in beating death
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 12:38 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 01:46 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
During the course of a seven hour interview with Army investigators immediately following the beating death of his 5-year-old daughter Talia, former Schofield Barracks soldier Naeem Williams "never expressed any concern, sorrow or remorse for Talia," Army investigator Albert Hazzard testified this morning in U.S. District Court.
Hazzard said he got the impression that Williams' focus was on himself, his wife Delilah and their four-and-a-half-month-old daughter Azrah.
"Talia was a burden, she wasn't really wanted," Hazzard said.
Talia was Williams' child from a prior relationship.
Williams, 34, is on trial for capital murder for the July 5, 2005, child abuse beating death of Talia. He is facing the death penalty.
Hazzard said he gave Williams the opportunity to write a letter to unburden himself from any guilt or sorrow he felt over Talia's death. He said Williams declined.
He said during the interview, Williams initially said Talia fell in the shower and hit her head. He said Williams later admitted that his daughter fell and hit her head after he struck her. Hazzard said Williams also admitted that he had previously hit Talia with his fist and belt on almost a daily basis.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140320_Investigator_testifies_father_expressed_no_remorse_after_beating_death.html
Investigator says father expressed no remorse in beating death
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 12:38 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 01:46 p.m. HST, Mar 20, 2014
During the course of a seven hour interview with Army investigators immediately following the beating death of his 5-year-old daughter Talia, former Schofield Barracks soldier Naeem Williams "never expressed any concern, sorrow or remorse for Talia," Army investigator Albert Hazzard testified this morning in U.S. District Court.
Hazzard said he got the impression that Williams' focus was on himself, his wife Delilah and their four-and-a-half-month-old daughter Azrah.
"Talia was a burden, she wasn't really wanted," Hazzard said.
Talia was Williams' child from a prior relationship.
Williams, 34, is on trial for capital murder for the July 5, 2005, child abuse beating death of Talia. He is facing the death penalty.
Hazzard said he gave Williams the opportunity to write a letter to unburden himself from any guilt or sorrow he felt over Talia's death. He said Williams declined.
He said during the interview, Williams initially said Talia fell in the shower and hit her head. He said Williams later admitted that his daughter fell and hit her head after he struck her. Hazzard said Williams also admitted that he had previously hit Talia with his fist and belt on almost a daily basis.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Prosecutor: Custodial dad murdered 5-year-old daughter with blow to the chest (Honolulu, Hawaii)
The trial FINALLY gets underway for custodial dad NAEEM WILLIAMS, who is charged with the murder of his 5-year-old daughter back in 2005. There is a long back story on this case.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140311_Prosecutor_in_death_penalty_case_says_child_died_after_kick_to_chest.html
Prosecutor in death penalty case says child died after blow to chest
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 10:47 a.m. HST, Mar 11, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 09:51 a.m. HST, Mar 12, 2014
Talia Emoni Williams' abuse was reported shortly after she went to live with her father.
In opening statements in Hawaii's first death penalty case, federal prosecutors said that 5-year-old Talia Emoni Williams died after she was hit so hard by her father that an imprint was left on the child's chest.
Talia Williams did not die in July 2005 after hitting her head on the floor from a slap to the small of her back as her father, former Schofield Barracks soldier, Naeem Williams told Army investigators, federal prosecutor Darren W.K. Ching told jurors in opening statements Tuesday morning in Williams's capital murder trial.
Ching said Talia hit her head after a blow to her chest that was so hard that it left an imprint and caused her left shoulder to separate.
Defense lawyer John Phillipsborn told the jurors that Williams admits to severly beating his daughter on the day Talia died. But he said the girl died from other injuries she had suffered earlier at the hands of her stepmother Delilah Williams.
An autopsy performed by the Honolulu Medical Examiner in 2005 says that Talia died from an inflicted head injury due to battered-child syndrome.
Phillipsborn told the jurors this morning that defense medical experts will dispute that finding.
Naeem Williams, 34, is charged with murder for the child abuse beating death of Talia.
He is facing the death penalty under federal law because he is charged with killing a child through abuse or as part of a "pattern and practice of assault and torture."
The federal government is prosecuting the case because Williams was in the Army at the time of his daughter's death and because the fatal beating happened in military housing at Wheeler Army Airfield.
There is no death penalty under Hawaii law.
Delilah Williams has pleaded guilty to causing the death of Talia and faces a life prison term. However, under the terms of her plea deal with the government, could get a sentence of 20 years instead of life. She is expected to testify as a government witness against her husband.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20140311_Prosecutor_in_death_penalty_case_says_child_died_after_kick_to_chest.html
Prosecutor in death penalty case says child died after blow to chest
By Nelson Daranciang
POSTED: 10:47 a.m. HST, Mar 11, 2014
LAST UPDATED: 09:51 a.m. HST, Mar 12, 2014
Talia Emoni Williams' abuse was reported shortly after she went to live with her father.
In opening statements in Hawaii's first death penalty case, federal prosecutors said that 5-year-old Talia Emoni Williams died after she was hit so hard by her father that an imprint was left on the child's chest.
Talia Williams did not die in July 2005 after hitting her head on the floor from a slap to the small of her back as her father, former Schofield Barracks soldier, Naeem Williams told Army investigators, federal prosecutor Darren W.K. Ching told jurors in opening statements Tuesday morning in Williams's capital murder trial.
Ching said Talia hit her head after a blow to her chest that was so hard that it left an imprint and caused her left shoulder to separate.
Defense lawyer John Phillipsborn told the jurors that Williams admits to severly beating his daughter on the day Talia died. But he said the girl died from other injuries she had suffered earlier at the hands of her stepmother Delilah Williams.
An autopsy performed by the Honolulu Medical Examiner in 2005 says that Talia died from an inflicted head injury due to battered-child syndrome.
Phillipsborn told the jurors this morning that defense medical experts will dispute that finding.
Naeem Williams, 34, is charged with murder for the child abuse beating death of Talia.
He is facing the death penalty under federal law because he is charged with killing a child through abuse or as part of a "pattern and practice of assault and torture."
The federal government is prosecuting the case because Williams was in the Army at the time of his daughter's death and because the fatal beating happened in military housing at Wheeler Army Airfield.
There is no death penalty under Hawaii law.
Delilah Williams has pleaded guilty to causing the death of Talia and faces a life prison term. However, under the terms of her plea deal with the government, could get a sentence of 20 years instead of life. She is expected to testify as a government witness against her husband.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Custodial dad to FINALLY go on trial for 2005 beating death of 5-year-old daughter (Honolulu, Hawaii)
We've posted on custodial dad NAEEM WILLIAMS many times over the years. This is a classic case of a protective mother who was smeared and robbed of custody by the abusive father. The dude had custody for only 7 FREAKING MONTHS before he managed to kill the girl.
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2014/03/07/federal-death-penalty-trial-set-to-open-in-hawaii
Death penalty trial in child's beating death set to start in capital punishment-free Hawaii
Mar 7, 2014
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — A Honolulu courtroom is set to become the scene of a death penalty trial even though Hawaii abolished capital punishment in 1957.
Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday in the trial of a former Hawaii-based Army soldier accused of beating his 5-year-old daughter to death in 2005. But because the crime allegedly took place on military property, Naeem Williams is being tried in federal court — a system that does have the death penalty.
It's rare for the government to seek the death penalty in a state that doesn't allow it. Only seven of 59 inmates currently on federal death row are from states that didn't have the death penalty at the time the sentence was imposed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.
While the Williams case hasn't received much publicity, the death penalty circumstance gives it something in common with a more high profile case for federal prosecutors: the Boston Marathon bombing.
"You have a population in Massachusetts and in the city where they're not used to having the death penalty," said Richard Dieter, the Death Penalty Information Center's executive director. "It just makes it a little harder to get these kinds of death sentences."
But Kenneth Lawson, associate director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, noted that someone who considers the death penalty immoral can be disqualified from serving on the jury.
"How do you get a jury of all of your peers when the only ones who can sit on there are those who believe in capital punishment?" he said.
Attorneys in the Williams case began questioning prospective jurors in January.
Talia Emoni Williams died in July 2005 after she was brought to a hospital unresponsive, vomiting and covered in bruises. A criminal complaint by federal investigators accuses her then-25-year-old father of beating the child to discipline her for urinating on herself. Federal investigators wrote that military law enforcement agents found blood splatters in the walls of the family's home at Wheeler Army Airfield from Talia being whipped with Williams' belt.
Delilah Williams, Talia's stepmother, was also charged with murder but pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors. She's expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison after she testifies against Williams at his trial, said her federal public defender, Alexander Silvert.
The Army agreed the case should be prosecuted in the civilian justice system so that the father and stepmother could appear in the same court.
"I am shocked that this case has not received more attention from the public and more attention from those groups in Hawaii that are anti-death penalty," Silvert said. "No one's in protest. To me, the lack of interest in the community is troubling."
Talia's biological mother, Tarshia Williams, is expected to testify for the prosecution, her attorneys said. She filed a civil lawsuit against the government over Talia's death. It has been put on hold until after the criminal trial. The mother's lawsuit claims the military didn't report to the proper authorities that Talia's father and stepmother "abused and tortured" her throughout the seven months she lived in Hawaii before she died.
Alberto Gonzales, the U.S. attorney general during President George W. Bush's administration, made the decision to seek the death penalty against Naeem Williams.
"Under Bush's administration, the philosophy was the federal death penalty should be spread out among all the states," Dieter said.
Legal observers say it's surprising that the current government continues to seek the death penalty against Williams. "It's disappointing the federal government is choosing to move forward with a death penalty case in a state that so clearly and constantly has rejected that as a form of punishment," said Rick Sing, president of the Hawaii Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
The last time the federal death penalty was approved for a Hawaii case was against Richard "China" Chong. But before he went to trial in 2000, he agreed to plead guilty to a 1997 drug-related murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He died of an apparent suicide about three months later.
Hawaii's history with capital punishment goes back long before statehood. There were 49 executions dating in Hawaii dating to 1856, with the last one recorded in 1944, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The final execution of Ardiano Domingo — a Filipino who was hanged for killing a woman with scissors in a Kauai pineapple field — helped prompt Hawaii's territorial lawmakers to abolish the death penalty in the state, said Williamson Chang, a University of Hawaii law school professor who teaches a course on the history of law in Hawaii.
Chang said before the law changed, Hawaii disproportionally executed people of color, mostly Filipinos, Japanese and Native Hawaiians.
Because of that history, Chang said he believes Hawaii jurors will struggle with the Williams case.
"We're used to a society which does not put people to death," he said. "It's a slap in the face to the values of Hawaii."
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2014/03/07/federal-death-penalty-trial-set-to-open-in-hawaii
Death penalty trial in child's beating death set to start in capital punishment-free Hawaii
Mar 7, 2014
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — A Honolulu courtroom is set to become the scene of a death penalty trial even though Hawaii abolished capital punishment in 1957.
Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday in the trial of a former Hawaii-based Army soldier accused of beating his 5-year-old daughter to death in 2005. But because the crime allegedly took place on military property, Naeem Williams is being tried in federal court — a system that does have the death penalty.
It's rare for the government to seek the death penalty in a state that doesn't allow it. Only seven of 59 inmates currently on federal death row are from states that didn't have the death penalty at the time the sentence was imposed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.
While the Williams case hasn't received much publicity, the death penalty circumstance gives it something in common with a more high profile case for federal prosecutors: the Boston Marathon bombing.
"You have a population in Massachusetts and in the city where they're not used to having the death penalty," said Richard Dieter, the Death Penalty Information Center's executive director. "It just makes it a little harder to get these kinds of death sentences."
But Kenneth Lawson, associate director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, noted that someone who considers the death penalty immoral can be disqualified from serving on the jury.
"How do you get a jury of all of your peers when the only ones who can sit on there are those who believe in capital punishment?" he said.
Attorneys in the Williams case began questioning prospective jurors in January.
Talia Emoni Williams died in July 2005 after she was brought to a hospital unresponsive, vomiting and covered in bruises. A criminal complaint by federal investigators accuses her then-25-year-old father of beating the child to discipline her for urinating on herself. Federal investigators wrote that military law enforcement agents found blood splatters in the walls of the family's home at Wheeler Army Airfield from Talia being whipped with Williams' belt.
Delilah Williams, Talia's stepmother, was also charged with murder but pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors. She's expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison after she testifies against Williams at his trial, said her federal public defender, Alexander Silvert.
The Army agreed the case should be prosecuted in the civilian justice system so that the father and stepmother could appear in the same court.
"I am shocked that this case has not received more attention from the public and more attention from those groups in Hawaii that are anti-death penalty," Silvert said. "No one's in protest. To me, the lack of interest in the community is troubling."
Talia's biological mother, Tarshia Williams, is expected to testify for the prosecution, her attorneys said. She filed a civil lawsuit against the government over Talia's death. It has been put on hold until after the criminal trial. The mother's lawsuit claims the military didn't report to the proper authorities that Talia's father and stepmother "abused and tortured" her throughout the seven months she lived in Hawaii before she died.
Alberto Gonzales, the U.S. attorney general during President George W. Bush's administration, made the decision to seek the death penalty against Naeem Williams.
"Under Bush's administration, the philosophy was the federal death penalty should be spread out among all the states," Dieter said.
Legal observers say it's surprising that the current government continues to seek the death penalty against Williams. "It's disappointing the federal government is choosing to move forward with a death penalty case in a state that so clearly and constantly has rejected that as a form of punishment," said Rick Sing, president of the Hawaii Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
The last time the federal death penalty was approved for a Hawaii case was against Richard "China" Chong. But before he went to trial in 2000, he agreed to plead guilty to a 1997 drug-related murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He died of an apparent suicide about three months later.
Hawaii's history with capital punishment goes back long before statehood. There were 49 executions dating in Hawaii dating to 1856, with the last one recorded in 1944, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The final execution of Ardiano Domingo — a Filipino who was hanged for killing a woman with scissors in a Kauai pineapple field — helped prompt Hawaii's territorial lawmakers to abolish the death penalty in the state, said Williamson Chang, a University of Hawaii law school professor who teaches a course on the history of law in Hawaii.
Chang said before the law changed, Hawaii disproportionally executed people of color, mostly Filipinos, Japanese and Native Hawaiians.
Because of that history, Chang said he believes Hawaii jurors will struggle with the Williams case.
"We're used to a society which does not put people to death," he said. "It's a slap in the face to the values of Hawaii."
Monday, February 3, 2014
Custodial dad to FINALLY go to trial for murder of 5-year-old daughter--9 years after her beating death (Hawaii)
We've had several posts on this case over the years. Freaking unbelievable that it has taken nine long years to bring custodial dad NAEEM WILLIAMS to trial for the murder of his daughter.
http://thetandd.com/news/local/hawaii-seeks-death-penalty-in-slaying-of-orangeburg-child/article_8aae19d6-8c97-11e3-9033-001a4bcf887a.html
Hawaii seeks death penalty in slaying of Orangeburg child
12 hours ago • T&D Staff Report
Talia Williams would have been 14 in March.
Instead, her father will go on trial for her murder next month in what could be Hawaii’s first death penalty case. Jury selection began last week.
Federal authorities are seeking the death penalty against Naeem Williams, 33, who officials say murdered his 5-year-old daughter by beating her to death. An autopsy showed the child suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
Williams was an Army specialist stationed in Hawaii at the time of Talia’s death in July 2005. The two lived in Army housing, along with Williams wife, Delilha Williams.
Authorities say the child, who at one time attended Mellichamp Elementary School in Orangeburg, suffered several months of abuse from her father and her stepmother. Delilha Williams, the stepmother, admitted to investigators she had stomped the child, telling Talia she hated her before the child died.
Delilha Williams is now serving a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.
Naeem Williams was given custody of his daughter seven months before her death. Investigators said he used duct tape to secure the child to a bed post where he then taped her eyes and mouth shut before whipping her.
Talia’s mother, Tarsia Williams of Orangeburg, won the right to sue the U.S. Army four years ago, alleging the military did not protect the child from abuse.
Family members said Naeem Williams’ trial is expected to get under way in March — two weeks before what would have been Talia’s 14th birthday.
http://thetandd.com/news/local/hawaii-seeks-death-penalty-in-slaying-of-orangeburg-child/article_8aae19d6-8c97-11e3-9033-001a4bcf887a.html
Hawaii seeks death penalty in slaying of Orangeburg child
12 hours ago • T&D Staff Report
Talia Williams would have been 14 in March.
Instead, her father will go on trial for her murder next month in what could be Hawaii’s first death penalty case. Jury selection began last week.
Federal authorities are seeking the death penalty against Naeem Williams, 33, who officials say murdered his 5-year-old daughter by beating her to death. An autopsy showed the child suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
Williams was an Army specialist stationed in Hawaii at the time of Talia’s death in July 2005. The two lived in Army housing, along with Williams wife, Delilha Williams.
Authorities say the child, who at one time attended Mellichamp Elementary School in Orangeburg, suffered several months of abuse from her father and her stepmother. Delilha Williams, the stepmother, admitted to investigators she had stomped the child, telling Talia she hated her before the child died.
Delilha Williams is now serving a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.
Naeem Williams was given custody of his daughter seven months before her death. Investigators said he used duct tape to secure the child to a bed post where he then taped her eyes and mouth shut before whipping her.
Talia’s mother, Tarsia Williams of Orangeburg, won the right to sue the U.S. Army four years ago, alleging the military did not protect the child from abuse.
Family members said Naeem Williams’ trial is expected to get under way in March — two weeks before what would have been Talia’s 14th birthday.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Dad attempts to kill 2-year-old daughter in botched murder-suicide during Christmas visitation (Kailua, Hawaii)
Yet another narcissistic, mentally unstable father who should not have been granted access to children. This one is identified as THOMAS MORTON.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20131226_Toddlers_dad_in_critical_condition_after_apparent_murdersuicide_attempt.html
Toddler's dad in critical condition after apparent murder-suicide attempt
Both survived a plunge into their backyard pool in Kailua
By Leila Fujimori
POSTED: 08:47 p.m. HST, Dec 26, 2013 LAST UPDATED: 08:58 p.m. HST, Dec 26, 2013
A 36-year-old Kailua man allegedly attempted to take his 2-year-old daughter's life and his own late Christmas afternoon by jumping into his backyard pool.
Police said the incident occurred between 5 and 5:15 p.m., leaving the man in critical condition. He is suspected of second-degree attempted murder and remained at an area hospital Thursday.
The girl also survived but her condition was unknown.
"The baby was OK," said Ernest Burlen, 79, a neighbor. "EMS took her to the hospital with the father. He wasn't looking too good."
Burlen said the father, Thomas Morton, had his daughter on weekends and holidays and seemed to be a good father and a good uncle to his twin brother's three children, who lived in the downstairs portion of their two-story house at 1288 Kina St.
At the time, Morton's brother and his wife had gone to the airport to drop off their children, who were going to catch a neighbor island flight to visit grandparents.
Another neighbor, who lives on the adjacent hillside, said she heard loud moans before the incident. "It sounded like someone in a lot of pain," said the woman, 59, who asked not to be named. "I couldn't see anybody.
It went on for some time. It sounded like this person was in agony."
She then saw the next-door couple scale the fence. The husband "fished the child out of the water and handed her to the wife," she said.
The husband jumped back into the water and tried to pull the man out of the deep end, she said.
But he struggled to bring Morton to the surface, so the hillside neighbor's husband, 58, ran down to help and managed to pull Morton out of the water. He remained unconscious.
Burlen said Morton was wearing denim trousers, and the child was fully dressed.
"I know he loved the baby," Burlen said. "Something must have set him off."
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20131226_Toddlers_dad_in_critical_condition_after_apparent_murdersuicide_attempt.html
Toddler's dad in critical condition after apparent murder-suicide attempt
Both survived a plunge into their backyard pool in Kailua
By Leila Fujimori
POSTED: 08:47 p.m. HST, Dec 26, 2013 LAST UPDATED: 08:58 p.m. HST, Dec 26, 2013
A 36-year-old Kailua man allegedly attempted to take his 2-year-old daughter's life and his own late Christmas afternoon by jumping into his backyard pool.
Police said the incident occurred between 5 and 5:15 p.m., leaving the man in critical condition. He is suspected of second-degree attempted murder and remained at an area hospital Thursday.
The girl also survived but her condition was unknown.
"The baby was OK," said Ernest Burlen, 79, a neighbor. "EMS took her to the hospital with the father. He wasn't looking too good."
Burlen said the father, Thomas Morton, had his daughter on weekends and holidays and seemed to be a good father and a good uncle to his twin brother's three children, who lived in the downstairs portion of their two-story house at 1288 Kina St.
At the time, Morton's brother and his wife had gone to the airport to drop off their children, who were going to catch a neighbor island flight to visit grandparents.
Another neighbor, who lives on the adjacent hillside, said she heard loud moans before the incident. "It sounded like someone in a lot of pain," said the woman, 59, who asked not to be named. "I couldn't see anybody.
It went on for some time. It sounded like this person was in agony."
She then saw the next-door couple scale the fence. The husband "fished the child out of the water and handed her to the wife," she said.
The husband jumped back into the water and tried to pull the man out of the deep end, she said.
But he struggled to bring Morton to the surface, so the hillside neighbor's husband, 58, ran down to help and managed to pull Morton out of the water. He remained unconscious.
Burlen said Morton was wearing denim trousers, and the child was fully dressed.
"I know he loved the baby," Burlen said. "Something must have set him off."
Friday, August 23, 2013
Dad arrested for assaulting 12-year-old son (Kalihi, Hawaii)
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/220702271.html?id=220702271
Father-son argument in Kalihi ends with hospitalization, arrest
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 08:55 a.m. HST, Aug 22, 2013
LAST UPDATED: 02:22 a.m. HST, Aug 23, 2013
An argument between a father and his 12-year-old son at a Kalihi public housing complex turned violent with the father now facing a criminal assault charge.
Police said the two were arguing at 2:30 p.m. at The Towers at Kuhio Park, formerly known as Kuhio Park Terrace, when the 38-year-old father allegedly struck his preteen son, sending him to the hospital for treatment.
The police report did not specify the type of injuries the youth suffered or what the father hit him with.
The father was arrested at the public housing complex and faces a second-degree assault charge.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/220702271.html?id=220702271
Father-son argument in Kalihi ends with hospitalization, arrest
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 08:55 a.m. HST, Aug 22, 2013
LAST UPDATED: 02:22 a.m. HST, Aug 23, 2013
An argument between a father and his 12-year-old son at a Kalihi public housing complex turned violent with the father now facing a criminal assault charge.
Police said the two were arguing at 2:30 p.m. at The Towers at Kuhio Park, formerly known as Kuhio Park Terrace, when the 38-year-old father allegedly struck his preteen son, sending him to the hospital for treatment.
The police report did not specify the type of injuries the youth suffered or what the father hit him with.
The father was arrested at the public housing complex and faces a second-degree assault charge.
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