KAVANNAH SALVADOR - 3 yo (2008) - Lackawanna County (N of Scranton) PA

The murder trial for a man charged with the beating death of a little
girl continued Tuesday in Lackawanna County with the child's mother
taking the stand.

The prosecution called Kasheema Reddish to the stand.

She was dating Darack Williams when police said he beat to death her daughter, three-year-old Kavannah Salvador, back in 2008.

Reddish told the court that on the day Kavannah died, she left her in Williams' care and at that time, Kavannah was fine.


Reddish, 27, was on the stand much of the day.

The district attorney said Kavannah was beaten so severely she had bleeding in her brain, broken bones and bruises all over her body, and that she died almost instantaneously.

During questioning, Reddish told the court her relationship with
Williams was one sided. She called him controlling and intimidating.

She said on the day her daughter died, she went to work at 7 a.m. She
checked on Kavannah before she left, and she was sleeping and seemed
fine.

Later that day, she got a phone call from Williams to come home. When
she got there, he said, "I put the kids to sleep. Kavannah wanted to get
up but was tired, so I put her back to bed. When I checked on her she
wasn't moving."

That's when they rushed the child the hospital. Reddish said Williams
changed Kavannah's clothes because her pajamas were covered in vomit.

Kasheema also said Kavannah's bed was cracked down the middle, and it was not like that before she left that day for work.

On cross examination, the defense team tried to discredit Reddish.

She admitted to helping her ex-boyfriend, Ivan Salvador, in his credit
card scheme by giving him Social Security numbers obtained from her Air
Force position.

She denied lying on her resume to potential employers.

She also told the court, she did not see any scars on Kavannah's body, and that she did not bathe the children on a daily basis.

The trial continues Wednesday morning with the prosecution expecting to call more witnesses.

http://www.wnep.com/news/countybycounty/wnep-lacka-kasheema-reddish-testifies-darak-williams,0,7589716.story

BACKGROUND:

2 behind bars in 3-year-old's death

Were featured in America's Most Wanted


Updated: Monday, 09 Mar 2009, 12:39 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 09 Mar 2009, 12:31 PM EDT


BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Two fugitives from a recent America's Most Wanted episode were arrested Sunday night in Buffalo.


Fugitives Darak Williams and Kashema Reddish are behind bars. News 4 was the only station at Buffalo Police D-district when the couple was arrested on murder charges in the death of Reddish's 3-year-old daughter Kavannah Salvador.

America's Most Wanted featured the pair in an episode that aired Saturday. The two were wanted for fleeing Scranton Pennsylvania last February after taking baby Kavannah to a local hospital because she wasn't breathing.

Doctors pronounced her dead on arrival and concluded the little girl had endured a number of traumatic injuries, including contusions to the back of her scull.

Kashema's mother Brenda said, "He changed her whole persona. To allow this to happen to the child she loved so much."

Brenda Reddish said her daughter met Darak while visiting New York City a couple of years ago.


Darak lied to Brenda, telling her he was a professional boxer. She didn't believe him then and doesn't believe him now when he says he's innocent.

When asked if he tortured and killed the little girl by a News 4 reporter, Darak Williams said, "The answer is no, with a straight face, no."

"He doesn't deserve to walk this planet. He's an animal. He's not a person. A human being wouldn't do anything like that to a 3 year-old child," said Brenda Reddish

A 3-year-old girl who was allegedly abused and killed by a West
Scranton man in 2008 was dead several hours before Darak Williams
brought her to Community Medical Center for treatment, an emergency room
doctor testified Wednesday.
Dr. Tyler Greenberg testified that when he examined Kavannah Salvador
based on her body temperature he determined she died hours before Mr.
Williams claimed he found her unresponsive making gurgling sounds in
their home from apparently choking on crackers. No evidence of crackers
was found in her throat, according to Dr. Greenberg.
"Red flags were going up in my brain left and right," Dr. Greenberg testified.
Mr. Williams, 28, told authorities he found Kavannah unresponsive at
about 3:30 p.m. and then took her to the emergency room, according to
court testimony.
Wednesday marked the third day of testimony before Lackawanna County
Judge Michael Barrasse in the case against the former Brooklyn, N.Y.,
resident, who is facing life in state prison without parole if convicted
of first-degree murder involving the alleged fatal beating.
Mr. Williams waived his right to a jury trial earlier this month,
opting to have Judge Barrasse decide the outcome after an agreement was
reached with prosecutors in exchange for dropping the death penalty.
Dr. Greenberg also testified that an extensive medical examination
revealed several injuries indicative of physical abuse, including a
black eye, broken ribs, brain bleeding and suspicious marks on her skin
suggesting she was tied up and whipped.
An autopsy determined Kavannah suffered from more than 21 injuries
over a six-month period. Dr. Wayne Ross, who performed the autopsy, will
testify today, First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said.
The prosecution is expected to rest following Dr. Ross' testimony.
Kavannah's mother and Mr. Williams' former girlfriend, Kashema
Reddish, has already pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter
involving the child's death on Feb. 21, 2008.
Mr. Williams' attorney, Carlos A. Martir Jr., argued that Kavannah's
injuries and suspicious death were caused by her mother and not his
client.
The defense is expected to begin calling witnesses Monday.
Ms. Reddish, who was with Mr. Williams when they took Kavannah to
Community Medical Center, testified Tuesday she was not aware her
daughter was being abused by Mr. Williams.
"I knew she had to go to the hospital," testified Ms. Reddish in leg irons and handcuffs.
The couple did not call 911, according to court testimony.
After being questioned by police, the couple immediately fled
Scranton. They were featured on the TV show "America's Most Wanted."
They were found in Buffalo, N.Y., about a year later after members of
a church group, who also testified Wednesday, told police the fugitives
were staying in their home.
Scranton Police Detective Vincent Uher testified that Mr. Williams
never made mention of Ms. Reddish beating her daughter during the course
of his investigation.
"I never heard him blame for her for anything," Detective Uher said.
Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/doctor-child-died-several-hours-before-brought-to-er-1.1095865#ixzz1CExZIKl5

Darak Williams, a West Scranton man accused of murdering his
girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, testified Monday he never struck the
child and said the fatal blows were inflicted by her mother.Under
rapid-fire cross-examination by the lead prosecutor, Mr. Williams
admitted he had never told anyone, from doctors and nurses at Community
Medical Center, to city detectives to prosecutors in the district
attorney's office, what he was saying from the witness stand at his
murder trial was coming to a close in Lackawanna County Court. On
the day Kavannah Salvador died, Mr. Williams said he was lying in bed
and heard noises coming from the child's bedroom, noises that sounded
like Kavannah Salvador was being beaten by her mother, who was saying,
"You think I'm playing with you." Mr. Williams said he got out of
bed and asked his girlfriend, Kashema Reddish, "What's wrong with you?"
He said Ms. Reddish left for work and Kavannah, who was making a
"wheezing" sound, never got out of bed that day. About eight hours
later, the couple took the child to CMC where she was pronounced dead.Assistant
District Attorney Gene Talerico, referring to the deep-brain injuries
Kavannah suffered that day and the condition the child was in on arrival
at CMC, said in closing arguments Mr. Williams' account of what
happened Feb. 21, 2008, was a fabrication and at odds with the medical
findings. The prosecution presented medical testimony that stated
blunt-force trauma to the girl's head, found in six different impact
sites, would have instantly sheared nerves in the brain, causing
unconsciousness and a quick slide into death."Not an ounce of
what he said should be believed," Mr. Talerico told Judge Michael J.
Barrasse in closing arguments. Judge Barrasse, who is hearing the case,
said he will render his verdict this morning.On at least three
other occasions before taking the stand on Monday, Mr. Williams said
Kavannah had been talking, playing and watching TV earlier in the day
before she was rushed to the hospital, Mr. Talerico said. Mr. Williams
repeatedly told officials in interviews that he noticed there was
something wrong with the child later that afternoon and then called Ms.
Reddish, telling her she had to come home. Mr. Williams admitted
he lied at CMC, at the police station in interviews with detectives and
in interviews with the DA's office, but on Monday he said he could
explain."I was protecting Kashema," Mr. Williams said. "I didn't
want to give her up." He said Ms. Reddish was pregnant with his child
and he did not want to see her arrested. Ms. Reddish was charged along
with Mr. Williams after they were caught in Buffalo, N.Y., following
more than a year on the run when they were recognized as fugitives on
the TV program, "America's Most Wanted." She pleaded guilty to
involuntary manslaughter for not protecting Kavannah from what
prosecutors say was a long-running pattern of abuse that caused scars
and broken bones. She is awaiting sentencing. If convicted of
first-degree murder, Mr. Williams, 28, formerly of Brooklyn, N.Y., faces
life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors
originally said they would seek the death penalty for Mr. Williams, but
the death penalty was dropped after Mr. Williams opted to have his fate
decided by Judge Barrasse, not a jury.During closing arguments
Mr. Williams' lawyer, Carlos A. Martir Jr. of Philadelphia, said it was
"more likely" Ms. Reddish "struck the fatal blow." Asked by Judge
Barrasse what crime he thought Mr. Williams was guilty of, Mr. Martir
said endangering the welfare of a child.Before recessing for the
day, Judge Barrasse said he wanted to review the transcript of testimony
from Dr. Wayne K. Ross, the forensic pathologist who catalogued a long
list of bruises, head injuries and broken bones that he said were
discovered during the autopsy.
Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/man-charged-in-child-s-death-blames-mother-for-fatal-beating-1.1098084#ixzz1CeqZjqkh

Williams gets life in prison for girl's murder, rails at judge
By Joe McDonald (Staff Writer)
WILLIAMS Darak Williams accused judge of anti-Semitism, saying, "You're going down."


A Lackawanna County judge Tuesday morning convicted a West Scranton man of first-degree murder in the beating death of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter and sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

Judge Michael J. Barrasse, who presided over the nonjury trial of Darak Williams, said medical testimony led him to the conclusion that Mr. Williams, not his girlfriend, committed the "senseless, brutal murder."

Mr. Williams, in a display of courtroom drama at odds with his cool and controlled demeanor on the witness stand, railed at Judge Barrasse when the judge asked if he had anything to say before sentencing.

Mr. Williams, a black Jew who at times seemed to be threatening the judge, variously accused Judge Barrasse of being anti-Semitic and of being illogical.

"How could you sit up here and find me guilty of murder?" Mr. Williams asked in a courtroom ringed by sheriff's deputies. "This is madness."

Before he was sentenced to life in prison and led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, Mr. Williams claimed "there is no evidence" and told the judge, "You're going down."

"Trust me, Barrasse, you're going down," Mr. Williams said. "I never touched that child. I did not kill Kavannah Salvador."

Outside the courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico referred to Mr. Williams' flash of rage and said "one can only imagine what she experienced that day." Mr. Talerico did not respond directly to Mr. Williams' assertions but said, "The evidence spoke for itself."

In reviewing the trial testimony, Judge Barrasse said "many unanswered questions" remained, including the motive for the killing.

But those unresolved issues were side notes to the core of the case: who was with the child when she suffered the severe deep brain head injuries that killed her, the judge said. He said there was not one "scintilla of medical evidence that those injuries could have occurred earlier." Mr. Williams blamed the girl's mother, Kashema Reddish, for what happened Feb. 21, 2008. He testified he heard Ms. Reddish beating the child before leaving for work in the morning. Ms. Reddish pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing.

Mr. Williams, a 28-year-old native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Ms. Reddish left town shortly after taking the girl's lifeless body to Community Medical Center and remained on the run for more than a year before they were caught in Buffalo, N.Y., after they were recognizing by someone who saw them on the TV show "America's Most Wanted." Before they were caught the couple had made an unsuccessful attempt to enter Canada under phony names