Skagit County couple sentenced to lengthy prison terms for adopted daughter’s death
Oct 29, 2013, 11:18 AM | Updated: 12:09 pm
A Sedro-Woolley couple has been given lengthy prison sentences for the death of their adopted daughter after their conviction on abuse charges.
Larry and Carri Williams were convicted Sept. 9 of manslaughter in the death of Hana Williams, a teenager adopted from Ethiopia. Prosecutors alleged they repeatedly starved, beat, and forced her to live outside in horrendous conditions as punishment.
Carri Williams was sentenced to the maximum of 443 months (36 years, 11 months). She had also been convicted of homicide by abuse.
Larry Williams was sentenced Tuesday to 333 months (27 years, 9 months), far more than the 14-to-18 months prosecutors were seeking.
Larry Williams was not home when Hana died and had contended he had no knowledge of the abuse.
Hana died May 12, 2011, in the backyard of the family home in Sedro-Woolley, about 60 miles north of Seattle. An autopsy found she died of hypothermia, with malnutrition, and a stomach condition as contributing factors.
On the rainy night Hana died, Carri Williams called 911 and reported Hana was not breathing, saying the girl had refused to come into the house. Hana was found face-down in the backyard with mud in her mouth.
Hana is believed to have been 13, but no documentation of her birth in Ethiopia was available.
The couple was also found guilty of assault of a child for punishing a boy they adopted in 2008 from Ethiopia at the same time as Hana.
The boy testified that the parents used sticks or belts to beat him all over his body as punishment. He also described being sprayed with a water hose if he wet his pants.
The Williams were convicted after a seven-week trial in Skagit County Superior Court. Defense lawyers told jurors that questionable parenting practices didn’t necessarily amount to a crime.
The trial was postponed several times, and her body was exhumed in January. Tests on her teeth and bones gave varying estimates, and experts were unable to agree on her age. Her age was significant because the homicide by abuse charge applies only if the victim was younger than 16.
After the arrests, the boy and six biological children were placed in foster care or with relatives.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
