Naeem Williams admitted Wednesday that he hit his 5-year-old daughter, Talia, with his fist, including on the day she died.
He even admitted punching Talia in the chest — the type of blow the prosecution says killed her.
The former Schofield Barracks soldier insisted, however, that it was a blow he delivered to Talia’s back on July 16, 2005, that felled her.
Williams, 34, is on trial in U.S. District Court for the beating death of Talia. If convicted, he would face the death penalty for causing the death of a child through abuse or as part of a practice and pattern of assault and torture.
On his second day on the witness stand Wednesday, his testimony was punctuated by numerous long pauses to questions about what he did to his daughter and why.
He admitted hitting her with a ruler, a belt and his hands, depriving her of food, restraining her with duct tape while beating her and shoving her into walls.
It’s been eight years since Williams was first indicted for murder. During that time he has sat through numerous pretrial court hearings as lawyers for both sides attempted to narrow the scope of what the other side should be able to present to a jury.
Williams displayed his full understanding of his defense and the different nuanced meanings his words could have in his carefully crafted response to prosecutor Steven Mellin’s question of whether or not he admits to causing Talia’s death on July 15, 2005.
"I was the last one to hit her. After I hit her she went down, didn’t get back up, went to the hospital and later died," Williams said.
The government has presented evidence that Talia died after receiving a punch to her chest. The blow caused Talia to fall backward and hit her head on the floor of the Williams family quarters at Wheeler Army Airfield.
Prosecutors showed the jury pictures of Talia’s scalp where fresh blood had collected inside the back of her skull at the point of impact.
Defense lawyers have said they will present testimony from experts who say that Talia could have died from infection caused by damage to her internal organs from a beating previously delivered by her stepmother, Delilah Williams.
On the day Talia died, Williams said, Delilah picked him up in the morning from the barracks, where he spent the previous night drinking with friends. When he got home, he said, he told Talia to wash her face and brush her teeth.
When he saw that Talia had gotten toothpaste all over the sink, he said he hit her from behind and told her to go to her room, where he hit her some more with his hands and belt.
Williams said he then went to sleep and was awakened by Delilah yelling at him about Talia soiling herself. When he asked Talia if she had soiled herself, he said, she replied, "No," even though he could see that she had.
He said he yelled at his daughter and told her to go to the shower. When she took her time, he said he told her to go back to her room.
That’s when he said he walked up from behind Talia and hit her in the back.
"I hit her hard enough to where she ended up hitting her head on the floor," Williams said.
He said Talia appeared to go into seizure with her arms sticking out to the side and shaking. He said he picked up his daughter and took her to the tub, where he poured cold water on her.
When that didn’t revive Talia, he said, he took her back to her room, put her on the floor and checked to see if her heart was beating. When he pressed on Talia’s chest, he said, mucus came out of her mouth.
At that point, Williams said, he mentioned to his wife something about calling 911 but he never did. He said Delilah was more concerned about getting their infant daughter, Azrah, out of the house before authorities arrived.
While in Talia’s room, he said, he noticed blood on the walls from previous beatings and decided to wipe off the blood "because I didn’t want people to think I was abusing Talia."
After he stopped cleaning, Williams said, he took a shower and changed his clothes. He said Delilah called 911 after her cousin had picked up Azrah.
Williams said he and his wife started beating Talia soon after his daughter arrived in Hawaii to live with them from South Carolina in December 2004. He said at first he beat his daughter to discipline her for soiling herself.
He said he never consulted a doctor to find out why Talia had trouble controlling her bladder and bowels.
Williams said Talia arrived into his household at a time of turmoil between him and Delilah and it seemed as though they continued to beat Talia in frustration over the unresolved conflicts in their relationship.
"It’s like all of our issues were being directed towards Talia," he said.
