On December 19, 2024, police arrived at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois, just before 3 p.m. They were responding to reports of an unresponsive 13-month-old baby. The child, who arrived at the center in an ambulance, had been given an over-the-counter medicine. As the child remained in critical condition, police notified the Department of Children and Family Services and the Pediatric Resource center.
Detectives also began their own investigation, interviewing the child’s guardians and hospital staff. Sadly, days later on December 27, the child was pronounced dead, according to a press release from the Peoria Police Department.
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On January 10, 2025, the guardians, 26-year-old Tasheaunna R. Williams and 27-year-old Nausicca Thomas, were arrested in Morton, Illinois. Authorities interviewed the two and charged them with aggravated battery, endangering the life and health of a child, and reckless conduct, the release noted. At the time, a coroner was still investigating the cause of the child’s death.
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Now, both Williams and Thomas are facing charges in the death of the child, who has since been identified as Hezekiah Williams. A preliminary autopsy found that Hezekiah suffered “gross physical abuse and neglect,” the Peoria Journal Star reported.
The investigation also found that Williams and Thomas had given the child more than the recommended dose of the sleeping aid ZzzQuil, according to CI Proud. The recommended dose for adults is 30 milliliters. Hezekiah had been given 40 milliliters.
According to court documents, Hezekiah also showed signs of severe malnutrition. He had wounds that were healing poorly, bruising, and a bleeding diaper rash, CI Proud reported. When police first began investigating, Hezekiah was in a coma and breathing through a ventilator. He would remain on life support until his death December 27.
One doctor at the pediatric intensive care unit at the hospital described Hezekiah’s physical condition in heartbreaking terms: “he looks like a baby from a concentration camp,” he said, per CI Proud.
Williams and Thomas have been charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, they both could receive a minimum of 20 years in prison. At maximum, they could serve up to 100 years in prison because of Hezekiah’s young age.
