When paramedics and Riviera Beach police officers responded to Naikishia Williams’ home in April, she told them that Nia, her unresponsive 7-year-old daughter, had been given aspirin by the child’s stepfather, according to a police report documenting the interaction.
But doctors at St. Mary’s Medical Center found that the child’s condition was not related to medication and that she instead was suffering from damaged internal organs, including a lacerated liver, police said.
Nia Williams died the night of April 28, and on June 26, a grand jury indicted Naikishia Williams on a charge of first-degree murder. Williams, 32, also faces a charge of aggravated child abuse.
The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office classified the death as a homicide and ruled that Nia Williams died from blunt force trauma to her abdomen.
During a hearing on June 27 at the Palm Beach County Jail, County Judge April Bristow assigned the elder Williams a public defender and ordered that she be held without bail and have no contact with minors. As a policy, the county Public Defender’s Office does not comment on open cases.
Police: Mother left child at hospital after giving birth
An arrest report made public on June 30 details an alleged history of abuse and neglect that investigators say began from the time Nia was born.
A woman who identified herself as the former caretaker for Nia and the child’s three older siblings told investigators that Naikishia Williams frequently abused the children, with Nia taking the brunt of it.
Doctors told investigators that Nia went into renal failure prior to her death and indicated that half of the her blood supply was in her stomach because her large intestines had been detached from her abdomen.
A witness told investigators Naikishia had stomped on the child’s stomach “like you stomp on an ant” after becoming angry because the child did not clean up a cereal mess.
According to the arrest report, a review of of past incidents by investigators showed that, among other acts, Naikishia left Nia at the hospital after giving birth. Nia was placed into foster care and later into the care of a family friend before Naikishia regained custody of the girl and her three older siblings.
Investigators say Nia was taken to St. Mary’s on two separate occasions in 2021, first for a fracture to her right femur and a laceration to the back of her head, and then for a broken arm just a few months later. In 2022, Nia returned to the hospital to be treated for burn marks caused by boiling water, police said.
The caretaker said she and her 30-year-old daughter had custody of the older siblings when Nia was born, and were awarded custody of Nia when the girl was 6 months old.
The 30-year-old told investigators she met Naikishia about a decade ago through her friendship with one of Naikishia’s cousins. She later became the godmother to one of the older siblings and was listed as Naikishia’s sister when Nia was born.
The caretaker alleged that Naikishia has a history of drug use. The caretaker made multiple attempts to retain custody of the children. Records show Nakishia was awarded custody after completing a parenting course. Naikishia reportedly lost custody again, but had the children returned to her care in June 2023.
Teacher: Child got sick in school days before death
A teacher at Mary McLeod Elementary School in Riviera Beach described to investigators an incident days before Nia’s death in which the child became sick in class and had to see the school’s nurse.
The school contacted Naikishia, who never returned messages and did not come to the school to pick Nia up, the report said.
The nurse told investigators that she let the child lie on a cot for a while, but could not examine or treat her because the school never received a signed parental consent form.
The teacher told investigators the child routinely came to class in dirty clothes and had missed more than 50 days of the school year.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Nia Williams died: Riviera police detail years of abuse leading to 7-year-old’s death
Reporting by Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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