PEORIA, Ill. – A man has pleaded guilty to First Degree Murder in relation to the death of his daughter in Peoria two years ago.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says 27-year-old Shamari Williams will be sentenced on June 27th and is facing 20-75 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after his plea Monday.
Peoria Police responded to his home on February 1st, 2022, on reports of a child not breathing.
First responders had noticed bruising on the body of two-year-old Emorri Green while performing CPR on her, but she died at the scene.
The state’s attorney’s office says a forensic pathologist report showed patterns of bruising and abrasions consistent with abuse on her chest and torso.
It was not determined how many times she was hit, but Green also had several areas of brain bleeding, lacerations to her liver, and contusions on her lungs and pancreas.
Williams had reportedly told police that he had spanked Green 15-20 times with a belt for urinating on the living room couch. But the pathologist had determined that a belt alone would not have caused that many injuries.
The state’s attorney’s office says custody of Green was given from her mother to Williams a month and a half prior.