Bad mom and boyfriend charged with beating murder of seven-year-old daughter
On the evening of August 11, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a second adult implicated in the 2018 murder of seven-year-old Kamia Jean-Baptiste. Deputies arrested 31-year-old Brandon Williams on the charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child. The warrant for Williams’ arrest was secured on Tuesday, one day after Kamia’s mother, Janee Dickson, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for her own role in Kamia’s death.
Before she was sentenced, prosecutors argued Dickson could’ve done more to prevent Kamia’s death. “She heard her child asking for help and didn’t give her help, plus I argue there’s been no showing of remorse,” prosecutor said. ~ ClickOrlando
On Wednesday, Volusia’s Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, “Kamia has never been forgotten here, and the detectives assigned to this case were never going to give up on getting justice for her. I don’t know if true justice is even possible in a case where a 7-year-old girl’s whole life was brutally stolen, but we never quit fighting for Kamia, and now that fight will continue through the courts.”
“Our 7-year-old victim was tortuously beaten and allowed to suffer for several hours before she was taken to the hospital for treatment – but it was too late to save her,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said. “This gut-wrenching crime demands our best efforts to seek accountability and justice.”
Back in February 2020, Kamia’s mother, Janee Dickson, then 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested in the March 2018 beating death of her seven-year-old daughter in the DeLand area and charged with the aggravated manslaughter of a child. Dickson was charged in in Mecklenburg County and then extradited to Volusia County.
Volusia sheriff’s detectives started investigating the case on March 6, 2018, after Kamia was airlifted from Florida Hospital DeLand to Florida Hospital South in Orlando (both now AdventHealth hospitals). Kamia had injuries and visible trauma that indicated she had been physically abused.
Kamia died the following day, March 7. An autopsy determined that the child had hemorrhaging of the soft tissue in her legs, back and backside which were likely a result of physical abuse. The cause of death listed in the autopsy report was blunt force trauma, and the manner of death was ruled homicide.
During interviews with detectives, Dickson explained that Kamia was injured while playing on the slide at a playground. However, during the investigation, Dickson’s boyfriend Brandon Williams told detectives that Dickson struck Kamia on multiple occasions, to an extent that exceeded parental discipline.
As the investigation continued, Dickson changed her story and admitted to detectives that Kamia had been physically disciplined, but she claimed it was Williams who disciplined her.
She described a March 5 incident in a vehicle when Kamia kept asking to stop and use the bathroom. Dickson said Williams drove to a DeLand-area side street, pulled Kamia out of the car and beat her for 15 to 20 minutes with a blunt object. Then she said he drove to Beresford Cemetery and beat her again for 30 minutes with the same object, along with a second object.
Detectives used GPS data from the phones of Dickson, Williams and Kamia to determine their locations on March 5, confirming their travel around the DeLand area on the evening of March 5, and their eventual arrival at the hospital at 8:44 a.m. March 6.
By her own account, Dickson did not call 911 or seek emergency help for Kamia during the beatings, or afterward, even though she noticed Kamia was having trouble breathing all night. She said Kamia was constantly thirsty and couldn’t sleep. Dickson said in the morning, she noticed that Kamia’s body had gone limp, she was cold to the touch, her head tilted, and her eyes were open but glossed over and unresponsive. That’s when she decided to take Kamia to the hospital.
When asked if she thought Kamia had died before she took her to the hospital, Dickson replied, “Basically, yeah.”
Dickson said that on March 7, Williams got rid of the items used in the beating as well as Kamia’s clothes and personal items. Williams denied all of Dickson’s allegations and maintained that he never struck Kamia in any way.
In an incident separate from Kamia’s death, Williams, a Volusia County, Florida, resident, was arrested back on February 4 and charged in Volusia County with possession of heroin.
The investigation into this case will continue, and additional charges are possible. Dickson’s charge of aggravated manslaughter is based on clear evidence that she contributed to Kamia’s death by neglecting to provide any care to her despite either observing or causing her injuries.
Also see: Child Fatality Summary for Kamia Jean-Baptiste
(Cover photo: Janee Dickson, Kamia Jean-Baptiste, Brandon Williams; Image credits: Volusia Sheriff’s Office)
(Source: Volusia Sheriff’s Office)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
