Mother left her adopted daughter to die outside in cold
Teenager adopted with her brother from Ethopia was starved, beaten and locked overnight in the backyard. Now her parents are facing jail
An American woman accused of starving her adopted daughter and locking her outside, where she died from hypothermia, has been found guilty of homicide.
Hana Williams, 13, was found outside unconscious in May 2011 in the backyard of her home in Washington state. It was shortly after midnight and temperatures were hovering around 4 degrees Celsius, authorities said. She had been adopted from Ethiopia in 2008.
Her mother, Carri Williams, was convicted on Monday of homicide by abuse and of manslaughter, while the father, Larry Williams, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, the Skagit County Prosecutor's Office said.
"It was a very sad, sad story," said Skagit County prosecuting lawyer Rich Weyrich. "It was something that shouldn't have happened.
"Fortunately, we were able to prove the charges, so we were able to hold them accountable."
The case is among several in recent years that have drawn attention to the vulnerability of children from overseas adopted by American families, among them the death in January of 3-year-old Russian adoptee Max Shatto.