Army wife admits role in child's death
The wife of a Schofield Barracks soldier has said her husband inflicted a blow to the head of her 5-year-old stepdaughter, Talia Emoni Williams, on July 16, 2005, the day she died.
But in acknowledgment of her own conduct, Delilah Williams, 23, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi to first-degree felony murder for causing the death of Talia.
Williams and her husband, Spc. Naeem Williams, 26, were both charged in a superseding indictment in October with first-degree felony murder for causing the girl's death.
Under a proposed plea agreement, Delilah Williams will spend no less than 20 years in federal prison for physically assaulting her 5-year-old stepdaughter if the court accepts the agreement.
Yesterday, Williams specifically admitted to assaulting the girl "as a pattern or practice" on more than two occasions between Dec. 13, 2004, and July 16, 2005. She said she knew the beatings would result in the girl's death.
"Your honor, I need to add that the assaults were intentional," she told the court. "They weren't accidental -- by mistake."
When asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg whether she knew it was reasonable or foreseeable that the girl would die as a result of the assaults, Williams replied, "Looking at it now, yes, your honor."
The government entered into the agreement because Williams has indicated her willingness to provide "full and truthful cooperation regarding the life and death of Talia Williams, including testifying at Naeem Williams' trial," the agreement said.
The agreement is also based on her accurate and truthful representation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the girl's death and that she has not minimized her conduct or her husband's conduct, the agreement said.
Federal prosecutors declined comment on the agreement, as did attorneys for both Williamses.
Defense and government attorneys are asking the court to seal the portion of the plea agreement that outlines the factual basis for Williams' plea and specifically why she is guilty of felony murder. Kobayashi set a hearing for Wednesday to hear arguments on the request.
Assistant federal defender Alexander Silvert had argued earlier that if the facts were made public, his client could face retaliation from other inmates in prison. Silverberg had argued that the information would taint the potential jury pool for Naeem Williams, who is set for trial in October 2007.
If Delilah Williams fulfills the terms of the agreement, the government will drop the remaining charges against her. The remaining charges include assaulting the girl with a belt and conspiring with her husband to clean the girl's blood off the walls and floors of the couple's home at Wheeler Army Airfield.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra, who will sentence Williams after she testifies against her husband, must still approve the plea agreement. If he doesn't, Williams can withdraw her plea and go to trial.
The girl died after she was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital with various injuries. Doctors concluded she died of "blunt head trauma due to battered child syndrome."
Delilah Williams told authorities that her husband struck his daughter with a belt because she had wet herself, according to court documents filed earlier. The second time she wet herself again, Naeem Williams allegedly struck her again with the belt, causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor.
The couple allegedly said they didn't call for help immediately because they were afraid authorities would take away their infant son.