Monday, January 25, 1999
Father gets manslaugher for killing 11-month-old
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
In a somber corner of an otherwise empty courthouse, a Hamilton County jury Sunday convicted an Avondale man of involuntary manslaughter in the beating death of his 11-month-old daughter.
Charles Williams, 27, also was convicted of two counts of child endangerment and faces a maximum 26 years in prison.
He escaped a possible death sentence when he was found not guilty of aggravated murder.
Mr. Williams stood expressionless as each verdict was read. There were no spectators either in support of him or his victim, who spent the last nine days of her life in a hospital with internal injuries.
But Cassie Williams of English Woods was not forgotten.
“It's sad with any victim, but especially one who is so young, who can't speak out,” Common Pleas Court Judge John O'Connor, who previously spent 27 years in juvenile court, said after his courtroom had cleared.
“Cassie did not have a very happy life.”
Said Mr. Williams as he was led away: “I miss her.”
The jury of seven women and five men was sequestered since 2 p.m. Friday. They deliberated from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and resumed at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Jurors finished shortly before noon Sunday. Most looked down as the verdicts were read. None appeared to look at Mr. Williams. Afterward they declined to comment, as did lawyers, pending Feb. 2 sentencing.
Mr. Williams testified last week that he might have hugged his daughter too hard on Memorial Day, and a short time later noticed she was hav ing difficulty breathing. Her internal injuries resulted from his crude attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which he said he learned on TV's Baywatch.
Prosecutors called him cruel, and quoted Mr. Williams' wife, one of his stepdaughters, his children's teachers and a social worker — all of whom testified about his violent temper.
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