Mom sues state over death of girl
Authorities failed to follow up on abuse reports, a suit alleges
State authorities failed to respond appropriately to reports of child abuse involving a 5-year-old girl and take action that could have prevented her death, a lawsuit alleges.
Tarshia Williams, mother of Talia Emoni Williams, who died July 15, 2005, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Circuit Court on Thursday against the state and other unnamed entities seeking damages.
"It is absolutely the intent of the mother to pursue this matter aggressively," said Honolulu attorney Mark Davis, who represents Tarshia Williams. "This child's torture and ultimate death was preventable had the appropriate agencies responded."
The girl's father, Army Spc. Naeem Williams, 27, is awaiting trial later this year in U.S. District Court for allegedly causing the death of his daughter. The government has said it will seek the death penalty if he is convicted of either of two counts of first-degree felony murder.
Williams allegedly admitted to beating the child with a belt and his closed fist almost daily at their Wheeler Army Airfield home in the five months before she died.
His current wife, Delilah S. Williams, 23, pleaded guilty in federal court in December to assaulting the girl on more than two occasions between December 2004 and the day of the child's death.
She told authorities that her husband struck the girl twice earlier that day because she had soiled herself. The second time, the girl fell and hit her head, losing consciousness. Delilah Williams said they delayed calling for medical attention because they feared authorities would take away the couple's infant.
"It is absolutely the intent of the mother to pursue this matter aggressively. This child's torture and ultimate death was preventable had the appropriate agencies responded."
Mark Davis
Honolulu attorney representing Tarshia Williams, the mother of Talia Williams, in a wrongful death suit.
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After the girl's death, Tarshia Williams' attorneys said reports of suspected abuse were filed by neighbors, the day care that Talia attended and by a relative of Delilah Williams.
"The state and other authorities negligently breached a duty of due care by failing to respond appropriately to the charges of child abuse and by failing to pursue appropriate action that would have prevented Talia's death," the complaint said.
Derick Dahilig, spokesman for the state Human Services Department, Child Welfare Services, said he had not yet seen the complaint and could not comment. Human Services Director Lillian Koller was not available for comment.
Shortly after the girl's death, the department had said they acted appropriately with what little information they had at the time, but were unable to locate the girl despite extensive searches through several databases.
The caller had given only the name of the child and her stepmother but left no contact numbers or an address and did not call back, Dahilig said at the time.
Attorneys for Tarshia Williams earlier filed a federal tort claim against the federal government "who we think was responsible for failing to report the information of child abuse to the state that could have responded," Davis said. The claim is going through the administrative process, initiating an investigation.
Although state agencies were notified by a relative of suspected abuse, they were not provided an address, and federal authorities who investigated the matter and were under legal obligation to report the matter to the local child abuse agency did not pass on the information, he said.