The indictment of the mother of a seven-year-old girl showed the harrowing details of the tragic incident.
The defendant, from Palm Beach County, was indicted for capital murder after investigators said that her 7-year-old daughter died from blunt-force trauma while under her care. The mother, identified as Naikishia Williams, was held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail.
Mother Indicted for Daughter's Murder
Her indictment came earlier this month on a first-degree murder charge, and authorities say the victim, Nia Williams, lost her life in April after being brought to the hospital with several injuries. The girl's former caregivers claim that the tragic incident could have been prevented by authorities.
Rebecca Finley cared for the seven-year-old girl for years, starting fromwhen she was only five years old. She said that she previously warned the Florida Department of Children and Families about ongoing safety concerns related to Naikishia.
Finley described Nia as a "baby of joy," adding that the young girl loved makeup, cleaning, cooking, and was generally a lovely child. She added that she fought to keep Nia and her siblings out of what she called an unstable home. However, the children were eventually returned to their mother despite her concerns, according to WFLX.
The child's former caregiver added that the state of Florida failed the seven-year-old girl, saying authorities went against her in favor of the biological mother. However, they eventually saw what she had been telling them for years, but it was too late.
The young girl's godmother, Whytni Walker, added that every single time Nia came back to them, she would be thinner and emotionally withdrawn. She said that authorities did not see the obvious signs and still let the child go back to a home that she was not supposed to be in.
The Failure of the State
In April, the Riviera Beach Police Department (RBPD) said that officers responded to an unresponsive child at 1501 West 15th Street. When they found the young girl, they quickly transported her to St. Mary's Medical Center, where doctors pronounced her dead, CBS12 reported.
It was later revealed that Nia had been temporarily removed from her mother's care twice. Legal expert Dave Aronberg noted that while criminal charges against DCF employees would be rare due to legal immunity, civil lawsuits are far more likely.
He said that he is almost certain that there will be civil lawsuits filed in the case of the young girl's death. Aronberg added that the state has been entrusted with protecting the most vulnerable and must face a civil lawsuit when it makes a mistake, as per WPBF.
