Caretaker repeatedly threw 5-year-old into pool until she drowned, police say
Five-year-old Justice Washington slept in the same bedroom as her abusers, police say. She was given to Shantaua Williams and her girlfriend to look after in July 2018. She was in good health, then.
Almost a year later, Williams was recorded by a security camera tossing Justice into a community pool at Oak Glen Apartments, the girl struggling for air as she was repeatedly submerged, before Williams dragged her limp body from the water, according to a police report.
Williams, 28, was booked into the Orange County Jail Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. It was not initially clear what had prompted those charges.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office, listed as the arresting agency, referred questions to the Orlando Police Department, which declined to release information about the case, as did the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office, which secured Williams’ indictment.
But the Orlando Sentinel obtained public records which revealed her alleged role in Justice’s death in the early hours of June 6, which prompted the arrest of Williams’ live-in girlfriend, Ebony Russell, on a child neglect charge in September.
Records from Russell’s arrest described Williams repeatedly tossing Justice into the pool at the Oak Glen complex on Mercy Drive in Orlando, where records show Williams’ sister had an apartment.
Cameras recorded Williams throwing the girl in the both the shallow and deep areas of the pool, police said, despite the girl consistently struggling to keep her head above water.
At one point, after Williams pulled her out, Justice was seen on camera tottering on the deck and struggling to keep her balance before Williams slapped her in the face and knocked her down, then threw her into the pool a final time, the report said.
The last few moments of video showed Williams carrying Justice, limp, out of the pool and out of view, according to police. The girl died early the next day at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford.
An autopsy later determined Justice died of blunt head trauma and drowning. Bruises, scrapes, cuts and bite marks on the girl’s body, all in various stages of healing, suggested evidence of foul play and negligence, according to the police report.
Russell, 36, lived with Williams in Sanford. A police report described Russel as a “live-in caregiver” and Williams as the “custodial guardian” who was in charge of “punishment.” They were the subject of multiple reports by child protection workers in the years leading up to Justice’s death.
According to police, the reports indicated that both children were being abused by the couple.
Sanford police noted one report they reviewed, dated last year, that indicated Justice had been “observed blindfolded with her hands stretched out and tied and eating raw oatmeal.”
“The report further stated that the reporter advised that Justice would need to wear a long-sleeve dress at her funeral to hide her injuries,” the police report said, describing the protective services report.
The Florida Department of Children and Families, which investigates allegations of abuse, did not immediately respond to a request for more information about investigations conducted prior to Justice’s death.
According to police, medical records show that Justice developed an “abnormal gait” and problems with her left hand under the care of Williams and Russell, but doctors didn’t note any other abnormalities.
Williams and Russell took in Justice and another child after receiving a letter from the children’s biological mother, who is the girlfriend of Williams’ brother, explaining that she could no longer care for them, according to Williams’ grandmother, Betty Williams.
Betty Williams told the Sentinel this week that the children visited her infrequently, usually only when Williams needed a babysitter. Justice was quiet, she remembered.
“I’m just kind of mixed up by all of this going on,” Betty Williams said. “I have never seen them mistreat those kids.”
Williams is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail. Her next court appearance is set for Jan. 25.
