Garden City man accused of killing fiancé's 2-year-old son
CBS2
GARDEN CITY, Idaho (CBS2) — A Garden City man is accused of killing a 2-year-old boy in his care.
Aaron Jacoby Williams, 31, was ordered held in the Ada County Jail without bond.
Police say Williams was arrested after the toddler was brought to a local clinic Monday afternoon, unconscious and not breathing. He was taken to St. Luke's in Boise, where he died from his injuries. Investigators determined the child was being cared for by his mother's fiancé, Aaron Williams when he received deadly injuries.
Prosecutor Tanner Stellmon told the judge that Williams had confessed to being violent toward the toddler.
"Ultimately the defendant has made admissions to inciting violence upon the child and losing his cool or losing his patience with the victim. That plays into the factor of the continued threat to the community," Stellmon said.
Medical personnel determined the toddler died from "traumatic injury."
"I can't advise the court as to what the ultimate cause of death was but there were some alarming findings including fractured ribs, severed liver, and some internal injuries of the sort. There are indications that there may have been head trauma," Stellmon told the judge.
The prosecutor said Williams was on probation for a previous domestic violence incident, involving a woman who was not the 2-year-old's mother, at the time of his arrest.
Stellmon said the mother of the toddler who was killed was living with Williams and was pregnant with his child. William also has a 5-year-old son from a previous relationship, who lived with him sometimes. Stellmon said the 5-year-old was home when the toddler was injured.
Stellmon asked for an order to be issued blocking Williams from having contact with the mother of the slain 2-year-old, as well as any other children.
"I’ve requested that he not be permitted within 20 feet of children,” Stellmon said. " You want to take in totality the risk he poses to minors in the community when he becomes enraged or frustrated, as well as the damage that he visited upon the child in this case, a 2-year-old in his care."
Williams' defense attorney, Eric Rolfsen, argued that the bond of $3 million was excessive.
“Mr. Williams does not have a particularly violent background as portrayed by the state. He does have a misdemeanor domestic violence case. My understanding he's been on probation for that for quite some time and was progressing well on that,” Rolfsen said.
Rolfsen asked multiple times that Williams be allowed to speak to his 5-year-old son.
“He would very much like to at least be allowed a phone contact with his 5-year-old son that would be very important to him,” Rolfsen said.
The defense attorney asked the court to consider a lower bond, in the range of $25,000 to $50,000.
"Whatever happened here is situational - if there is a no-contact order with children, this is a situation that just can't occur," he said.
Judge Michael Oths ordered Williams held without bond but rejected the prosecution's request for a no-contact order. If the suspect is not getting out of jail, the judge said, he felt the no-contact order would be unnecessary.
A preliminary hearing is set for March 4.
“This is a very sad day for our community," Garden City Police chief Rick Allen said. "Our hearts go out to the child, his mother, and all of the family members...The investigation into this homicide will continue as we are committed to seeking justice for this young toddler.”
https://idahonews.com/news/local/gar...o-year-old-boy
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