Khaliq Woods (Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office).
A Georgia man “violently squeezed” his daughter to death and then tried passing off her injuries as a result of the two of them “playing” together, telling authorities he was “tossing her in the air and catching her.”
Khaliq Woods, 29, was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated battery and first-degree child cruelty for the 2019 death of his infant daughter, Kamila Woods, at their home in Duluth, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors outlined the case against Woods in a press release Tuesday, announcing that he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Jurors deliberated for 10 hours before finding him guilty.
“We grieve with the family of the deceased child Kamila Woods,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement. “This is a tragedy that an infant’s life was taken,” the DA added.
According to prosecutors, Woods, who was 23 years old at the time brought Kamila to Northside Duluth Medical Center himself on the morning of Nov. 30, 2019. Kamila was pronounced dead upon arrival.
“Kamila’s mother had dropped her off at Woods’ apartment the previous day,” the DA’s office explained Tuesday. “Woods told police that he had been playing with the infant that evening, tossing her in the air and catching her. He said on one of those catches, he felt the infant’s side go in, and he heard wheezing. He put her to bed around 10 p.m., that evening, and went back to check on her around 2 a.m.”
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Woods told police that Kamila had not moved from her position, and that she was also refusing to take a bottle or pacifier. He claimed he checked on her again at around 6 a.m. before ordering a ride-share to take her to the hospital.
“A search warrant of Woods’ phone revealed that around 2 am, he searched for ‘symptoms of broken ribs in children’ on the internet no less than 9 times,” according to the DA’s office.
“The autopsy conducted on Kamila showed that she had suffered multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver, and bleeding and swelling of the brain,” prosecutors said. “Evidence introduced at trial showed that Kamila’s injuries were consistent with being violently squeezed and shaken.”
DA Austin-Gatson added, “We pray that the outcome of this trial will help Kamila’s family heal.”
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