3 days ago
Father charged after claiming death of child in Lewis County was ‘all his fault'
JANE LEW, (WBOY) — A father has been charged in Lewis County after he allegedly admitted to throwing a young child 'out of frustration,' causing the child's death.
On May 25, troopers with the Weston detachment of the West Virginia State Police went to assist EMS workers at a residence in Jane Lew where first responders were performing CPR on a 'young juvenile,' according to a criminal complaint.
Troopers assisted in life-saving measures before the child was taken to Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
After the child's death, the medical examiner noted that there was 'a bruise above the juvenile's left eye on his forehead,' but 'did not immediately notice any other physical defects or anything suspicious,' troopers said. Hospital staff also said that while intubating the juvenile, they found 'a chocolate-like substance in the juvenile's airway.'
Troopers returned to the McWhorter Road residence in Jane Lew to speak with two of the juvenile's guardians, who said 'they did not suspect any neglect from either parent,' according to the complaint.
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One guardian said the child 'was completely fine' when they had woken that morning and that the child 'had been suffering from a cold off and on for quite some time' but was 'normal all morning,' troopers said.
Another said the child 'had just recently went to the doctor,' but the child 'was crawling around in the kitchen and had slipped and bumped his head on the floor' that morning which 'did leave a little red mark on his head,' according to the complaint.
The guardians also told troopers that one of the juvenile's parents 'smoked Delta 8' and 'would buy it at vape stores but she was not allowed to have it around the kids,' and they 'would only let her smoke it outside,' troopers said.
After the child's death, troopers spoke with the parents; the mother said she had given the child to his father, Zachary Williams, 27, of Jane Lew, because the child 'would not go down for a nap and was crying and fighting the nap more than usual,' according to the complaint.
The mother stated Williams went into the child's bedroom and she went into another room, but after 'a short period of time,' Williams began 'yelling for her,' according to the complaint. When she went into the child's room, she 'observed the juvenile to be limp' and called 911; while on the phone, the child stopped breathing, the mother said.
During that initial interview, Williams told troopers that when he went into the bedroom, he 'picked the juvenile up and began bouncing him in an attempt to soothe him,' and 'while bouncing him, the juvenile went rigid and then limp and became unresponsive,' at which point he yelled for assistance, troopers said.
However, during another Mirandized interview later that day, Williams 'did confess to throwing the juvenile out of frustration' which caused 'the juvenile to strike his head on the bedframe and the floor,' according to the complaint. Troopers said that during that same interview, Williams 'stated that it was all his fault.'
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The juvenile's body was transported to the state medical examiner's office in Charleston, and on May 27, troopers learned the juvenile 'did sustain a severe skull fracture to the rear of the head' and the doctor who perform the autopsy noted that 'this type of skull fracture is caused by trauma,' troopers said.
Williams has been charged with murder and child abuse resulting in death. He is being held in Central Regional Jail without bond.
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