Duluth father sentence to life for death of his 9-week-old daughter
A Duluth father was found guilty of murdering his 9-week-old daughter.
Khaliq Woods, 29, was convicted of two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated battery, and one count of first-degree cruelty to children for the Nov. 2019 death of Kamila Woods.
'We grieve with the family of the deceased child Kamila Woods,' Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. 'This is a tragedy that an infant's life was taken. We pray that the outcome of this trial will help Kamila's family heal.'
On the morning of Nov. 30, 2019, Khaliq Woods, then 23 years old, brought Kamila to Northside Duluth Medical Center.
She was dead when he arrived with her.
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Her mother had dropped her off at his apartment the previous day.
Woods told police that he had been playing with his daughter, tossing her in the air and catching her.
He said on one of those catches, he felt her 'side go in' and heard wheezing.
He said he put her to bed around 10 p.m. and went back to check on her at 2 a.m.
Woods told police that Kamila had not moved and she would not take a bottle or pacifier.
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He said he checked on her again at 6 a.m. and then ordered a rideshare to take her to the hospital.
Investigators got a search warrant for his phone and revealed that at around 2 a.m. that morning, he searched for 'symptoms of broken ribs in children' on the internet at least nine times.
The autopsy showed that she suffered multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver, and bleeding and swelling of the brain.
Evidence introduced at his trial showed that Kamila's injuries were consistent with being violently squeezed and shaken.
After 10 hours of deliberation, the jury delivered the guilty verdicts.
Khaliq Woods was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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