A Georgia man “violently squeezed” his daughter to death before attempting to blame her injuries on “playing” together, telling authorities he was “tossing her in the air and catching her.”
The Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Khaliq Woods, 29, was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated battery, and first-degree child cruelty in the death of his infant daughter, Kamila Woods, at their Duluth home in 2019.
Prosecutors detailed the case against Woods in a press release on Tuesday, announcing that he had been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The jury deliberated for ten 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 on the morning of November 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 on Tuesday. “Woods told police he had been playing with the infant that evening, tossing and catching her. He stated that during one of those catches, he felt the infant’s side go in and heard wheezing. He put her to bed around 10 p.m. that evening and returned to check on her around 2 a.m.
Woods told police that Kamila had not moved from her position and was refusing to accept a bottle or pacifier. He claimed he checked on her again around 6 a.m. before calling a ride-sharing service 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 district attorney’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,” according to the prosecutors. “Evidence introduced at trial showed that Kamila’s injuries were consistent with being violently squeezed and shaken.”
According to DA Austin-Gatson, “We pray that the outcome of this trial will help Kamila’s family heal.”
