US adoptive mother guilty of homicide in death of Ethiopian girl

OLYMPIA, Wash (Reuters) – A US adoptive mother accused of starving her 13-year-old Ethiopian-born daughter and locking her outside in the cold, where she died from exposure, was found guilty of homicide yesterday in Washington state.

Hana Williams, adopted from Ethiopia in 2008, died of hypothermia in May 2011 after she was found unconscious outside shortly after midnight in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius), authorities said.

The girl’s mother, Carri Williams, was convicted of homicide by abuse and of manslaughter linked to the girl’s death, while the father, Larry Williams, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, a representative of the Skagit County Prosecutor’s Office said.

“It was a very sad, sad story,” Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney Rich Weyrich told Reuters. “It was something that shouldn’t have happened.

Fortunately, we were able to prove the charges, so we were able to hold them accountable.”