A 32-year-old West Virginia babysitter will spend several years in prison after admitting to killing a 2-year-old boy in her care by covering his playpen with a mattress to keep him from getting out, suffocating the youngster.
Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth D. Ballard sentenced Brittany Napier to two to six years in a state correctional facility on Monday for the 2023 death of child Za’khi Williams, according to authorities.
In February, Napier pleaded guilty to one crime of child maltreatment resulting in death and one count of involuntary manslaughter in Za’khi’s case. Ballard sentenced her to one year for manslaughter and one to five years for neglect, with the terms running consecutively, meaning one after the other.
In addition to her term in detention, Napier must serve 50 years of extended supervision after her release and is barred from having any contact with her own children, according to Charleston, West Virginia-based ABC and Fox station WCHS.
According to court documents obtained by Huntington, West Virginia, NBC affiliate WSAZ, officers from the Dunbar Police Department responded to a 911 call about a 2-year-old who was not breathing at a home in the 1200 block of Parkway Drive in Dunbar, West Virginia, around 6 p.m. on July 11, 2023.
When the first responders arrived at the scene, they discovered the child—llater identified as Za’khi—aand rushed him to a nearby hospital for treatment, but the boy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
According to investigators, Napier had been living at the Parkway Drive residence for a few days and was often babysitting the victim.
In an interview with investigators, Napier reportedly revealed that earlier that morning, she put Za’khi in his playpen and then placed a queen mattress on top of it to keep the boy from climbing out. According to authorities, the kid attempted to get out but remained stuck between the playpen’s top bar and the huge mattress, eventually suffocating.
Napier also accepted her behavior at her February plea appearance.
“I put a mattress on top of a playpen, and he got stuck between them, causing him to suffocate and die because I made a terrible decision,” Napier stated at the court, according to WCHS.
On Monday, an emotional Napier reaffirmed that she never intended to kill Za’khi, allegedly crying as she told the court that she had “made a horrible mistake.”
“I will not forgive myself. I’m terribly sorry to Za’khi’s family and everyone who loved her so much. I had no intention of causing damage to precious baby Za’khi. “If I could trade places with him, I would in a heartbeat,” she told WCHS. “I truly never meant to hurt him.”
Before Napier’s formal conviction, Za’khi’s mother, Caleigh Cheeks, addressed the court and demanded the maximum sentence.
“I trusted someone with his life, and I will always regret that decision,” Cheeks reportedly said. “My son will never have the opportunity to grow up like other children, attend school, and enjoy a normal life. I will never be the same again. “This has destroyed me, and I can’t see myself forgiving,” she added. “My son is gone forever; no matter how many years you do, I will make up for that.”
Ballard described the incident as “tragic,” telling Napier that there was no reason for what she had done and that he had no choice but to give her the maximum penalty, according to West Virginia MetroNews.
The judge reportedly said, “Your egregious act caused an innocent child who was in your care to die, and I don’t think there’s any way to repair that.”
