KILAH DAVENPORT - 3 yo (2012)/ Convicted: Stepfather; Joshua Houser - Indian Trail/ Charlotte NC

ties arrested 22-year-old Joshua Houser at Jeff Gordon Children's
Hospital in Concord on Thursday. He is in the Union County jail under a
$1 million bond. Houser is awaiting approval for a court-appointed
attorney.
An arrest warrant says 3-year-old Kilah Davenport has a broken
collarbone, a fractured skull, a brain injury and bruising on her body.
Detectives said the child's head was injured so badly doctors had to
remove part of her skull to relieve pressure from brain swelling and
bleeding.

Deputies say Houser was alone with the girl when she was hurt. They would not say how the child was hurt.
http://www.jdnews.com/news/indian-104137-old-trail.html

First, Kilah Davenport’s doctors said she wouldn’t live. Then
they said she would remain in a vegetative state, according to her family.

But 3-year-old Kilah, who in May was beaten almost to death, left
Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte Thursday in a pink tutu.



An escort of motorcycles, firetrucks and police cars led her and her family to her grandmother’s home in Concord.

Kirbi Davenport, Kilah’s 22-year-old mother, cried before strapping Kilah into her car seat.

“It’s like taking her home again for the first time, like a
newborn,” she said. She hadn’t left Kilah’s side in the hospital for the
two months her daughter spent there.

“I mourn the loss of Kilah before, the old Kilah, because now you
only get a smile now and then,” Kirbi Davenport said. “It’s like I lost
a baby but I gained a new baby. But she’s in there, my Kilah. She looks
at you and you know she’s happy. She just can’t get her smile to work.”

September trial set

Joshua Houser, Kilah’s 22-year-old stepfather, is charged with
felony child abuse and is jailed on $1 million bond. His trial is
scheduled for September in Mecklenburg Superior Court. If convicted, he
faces 44 to 92 months in prison – a possible sentence that family
members say is too lenient.

Kilah had a broken collarbone, a fractured skull and brain damage
after the May 16 incident in Indian Trail, according to Houser’s arrest
warrant. The swelling and bleeding were so bad that doctors had to
remove part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain.

Fighting to change law

The Davenport family told themselves they couldn’t let Kilah’s
suffering be for nothing. Now, they’re fighting to toughen the
punishment of child abusers with legislation they call Kilah’s Law.

Kilah’s Law calls for stiffer penalties and longer sentences for
felony child abusers, as well as a neighborhood registry similar to the
one required of sex offenders. The law is expected to be introduced in
the N.C. House at the beginning of the year.

Backing the law are Rep. Craig Horn, a Democrat from Union
County, Indian Trail Mayor Michael Alvarez and activist Jeff Gerber, who
founded the Justice for All Coalition, a national group that advocates
for tougher penalties in cases of violence against children and women.

Alvarez said the current law only gives criminals a slap on the wrist.

“This child’s going to have a lifetime recovery,” he said. “And
with good behavior, these guys can be out of jail in 24 months. It’s
unacceptable.”

Alvarez said he hopes for the law to be passed within a year.

If Kilah’s Law becomes a reality, felony child abuse would carry a sentence of 25 years to life.

Leslie Davenport, Kilah’s grandmother, said the priority now is to keep the law at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

“She’s a victim, a survivor, a child who because of what happened
to her is going to help save other lives,” her grandmother said.

Recovery steps

Kilah still has severe brain damage, but her family says she is rewriting the rules of her expected recovery.

She can take small bites of food, identify colors and breathe on
her own. Last week she took five steps with help from a therapist.

“These steps mean a lot more than her baby steps,” Kilah’s mother said.

Local members of the nonprofit motorcycle group Renegade Pigs,
composed of active and retired law enforcement officers, said they were
happy to lead Kilah home.

“Anytime we can do anything good for the people, we do,” said
member Michael Hastings. “To me, I had to hold back the tears. Nobody
deserves that, especially not an innocent little girl.

Read more here:http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/20/3392667/child-abuse-victim-leaves-hospital.html#storylink=cpy

I was going to put this up but I saw you beat me to it. This is so sad. How can he only get less than 8 years, max? How is that justice for this sweet baby!

“This child’s going to have a lifetime recovery,” he said. “And
with good behavior, these guys can be out of jail in 24 months. It's unacceptable.”

---I agree. He should be made to suffer each day she's alive.

And just so ya'll know I can do math... I was basing my 8 years on the 92 months, not the 24 months LOL

Girl, four, who was left severely brain-damaged 'by stepfather who used her like a battering ram and slammed her into a wall' is wheeled into court for his trial by her family

Joshua Houser 'picked up Kilah Davenport, then 3, and smashed her against a wall in their North Carolina home in May 2012 for soiling herself'
He claims that she suffered her injuries in a fall and that the wall was damaged because he punched it in frustration during the 911 call
Kilah needed part of her skull removed for 5 months because her brain was so swollen and she is still severely impaired
She moaned gently through the court proceedings as her mother held her
Houser faces up to 10 years behind bars if found guilty of the attack

By Lydia Warren
PUBLISHED: 11:22 EST, 27 February 2014  | UPDATED: 12:29 EST, 27 February 2014

The family of a four-year-old girl who was left brain damaged after her step-father allegedly slammed her against a wall 'like a battering ram' for soiling herself have taken her to his trial as they fight for justice.

Kilah Davenport moaned gently in her mother's arms as Joshua Houser took the stand in Monroe, North Carolina on Wednesday and claimed he loved the victim and would never hurt her.

'I didn't do it,' Houser, 24, said of the May 2012 attack. 'I won't admit to something I know I didn't do.'

On Wednesday afternoon, the jury began their deliberations and continued on Thursday.

Kilah, who was three at the time of the incident, is unable to walk or talk and is now confined to a wheelchair. She cannot communicate apart from head and eye movements, her grandmother said.


Life changing: Kilah Davenport is pictured left before she was allegedly slammed against a wall by her stepfather in 2012, which left her brain damaged. She is pictured after the incident, right, with her mother.


Battle: Kilah's grandmother Leslie said on Wednesday that she was looking forward to the case being over

'It only takes an instant for things to change forever,' Assistant District Attorney Craig Principe said as he showed an image of a smiling Kilah before the incident, the Charlotte Observer reported.

'It only took an instant for the defendant's temper to flare… and use her like a battering ram and slam her skull into a Sheetrock wall.'

Houser is charged with abusing Kilah while he was left in charge of her at their Indian Trail home while her mother went to work in May 2012.

Prosecutors claim that he picked up the girl after she had soiled herself, and smashed her head into a wall, rendering her unconscious.


Accused: Joshua Houser, left in a mug shot and right in court, right claims Kilah injured herself in a fall


Seeking justice: Kilah is seen outside the court as the jury heads to its deliberations on Wednesday

She suffered damage to 90 per cent of her brain and needed a portion of her skill removed for five months because her brain was so swollen.

Doctors initially told her family that she would not live, but after she pulled through the first few days, they said they expected her to remain in a vegetative state, according to the family's website.

Thanks to grueling physical therapy, she is now able to communicate basic needs and can hold up her head, but she is unable to walk and remains severely impaired.

Houser claims that the damage to the wall occurred after he punched it in frustration when a 911 operator couldn't understand the address he was giving as he sought help for Kilah.

He said that after she had soiled herself, he told her to go to the bathroom but he heard her fall. He claims he ran to her and put her on a bed. He called 911 when she seemed to be unresponsive.

He added that he thought of Kilah as 'my daughter to this day'.

Kilah's mother, Kirbi, was pregnant with Houser's child at the time of the incident and the child has since been born.


Injuries: Kilah needed part of her skull removed after the accident to reduce swelling on her brain

Houser's defense attorneys said there was no wallboard residue in Kilah's hair and no marks on the little girl indicating he had grabbed her in rage.

Prosecutors said two strands of the girl's hair were found on the wall.

Assistant District Attorney Anne Reeves said blaming the injuries on a fall was 'ridiculous'.

'You all are not fools,' she told the jury, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Prosecutor Reeves played a video showing Kilah riding a bike and laughing before the incident.

'That sound, of bubbly laughter, he took her voice,' Reeves said. 'The sound she makes now is a continued low moan. It sounds kind of like an animal's. You don't want to look at it. She never deserved this. No child deserves this.'


Confined: Doctors likened her injuries to those suffered by someone ejected from a car. She is pictured right with her mother, who helped pushed through 'Kilah's Law' for harsher punishments for abusers


Scene: Houser had been left in charge of Kilah at their home, pictured, while her mother was out working

'I'm just glad it's coming to an end,' Kilah's grandmother Leslie Davenport told WBTV outside the court. 'The jury will make its decision, and we'll move on from there.'

'I see my precious little angel just working and healing and making strides every day.'

After Houser's arrest the day after the incident, Kilah's family pushed for Kilah’s Law, which would increase penalties in North Carolina for felony child abuse cases.

Last April, Governor Pat McCrory signed Kilah's Law, which increases penalties in five child abuse-related felonies, and the family now wants it to be signed into national law.

If convicted, Houser faces 44 to 123 months in prison. If Kilah's law had been in place at the time, he would have faced 125 to 201 months in prison.


Angelic: Kilah grins for snaps ahead of the life-changing incident, which happened when she was two


Happy: Kilah was a carefree toddler before her stepfather allegedly lost his temper when she soiled herself

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2569278/Mother-holds-severely-brain-damaged-daughter-4-court-girls-stepfather-denies-used-like-battering-ram-slammed-wall-soiling-herself.html

She was a gorgeous happy little angel. Only 10 years is an insult.  He should get the death penalty or at least life in prison.  You don't get that knid of blunt force trauma from "falling".  That's attempted murder in my book.  William

Stepfather found guilty and sentenced to 10 years behind bars for ramming 4-year-old girl's head through a wall - leaving her with devastating brain damage

Joshua Houser convicted of felony child abuse and inflicting serious bodily harm on his stepdaughter Kilah in May 2012
He was sentenced to between 7 years and more than 10 years

House smashed Kilah against a wall after she soiled herself but claimed that she suffered her injuries in a fall while she was in a different room

Kilah needed part of her skull removed because her brain was so swollen and she is still severely impaired

By Lydia Warren
PUBLISHED: 11:06 EST, 28 February 2014  | UPDATED: 13:54 EST, 28 February 2014

A man has been found guilty of ramming his step-daughter's head through a wall after she soiled herself, leaving her severely brain damaged.

Joshua Houser, from Indian Trail, North Carolina, was sentenced to between seven and ten years for the brutal attack on Kilah Davenport in May 2012, when she was just three.

Houser kept his hands in his pockets and showed no emotion as he was convicted of felony child abuse and inflicting serious bodily harm on Kilah, who sat in her stroller in the front row.

Her mother, Kirbi Davenport, patted the little girl's head as the verdict was read out following six hours of deliberation from the jury, the Charlotte Observer reported.

In an astonishing show of mercy following the conviction, Kirbi Davenport revealed that she has forgiven her ex-husband.

'I have no ill feelings towards Josh,' she told WBTV. 'I forgive him for what he's done even though he won't say that he's sorry - or that he did it.'

Now that her daughter has had justice, she is looking forward to getting on with their lives, she said.

'She's gonna walk, she gonna go to prom, she's gonna get married, she's gonna have kids, she's gonna be Kilah again,' Davenport said. 'She's gonna be out dancing and that's my main focus.'

Kilah, who is now four, is unable to walk or talk and is now confined to a wheelchair. She cannot communicate apart from head and eye movements, her grandmother said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570245/Stepfather-guilty-sentenced-10-years-slamming-girl-4-wall-like-battering-ram-leaving-devastating-brain-damage.html

Well at least it's more justice than poor little Caylee got.  This should have been a life sentence for this man.  William

Autopsy for child abuse victim Kilah Davenport cites pneumonia, complications from assault

By Adam Bell
abell@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Thursday, Sep. 04, 2014

An autopsy report released Thursday on 4-year-old child abuse victim Kilah Davenport showed that the girl died in March of pneumonia due to complications of head injuries from the assault by her stepfather.

Diabetes also contributed to her death, according to the report. Kilah did not have diabetes before the May 2012 assault in her Indian Trail home, her grandmother Leslie Davenport said.

Kilah’s stepfather, Joshua Houser, was convicted of the assault in late February, a couple of weeks before Kilah died. He was sentenced to a minimum of 93 months and a maximum of 123 months in state prison.

Leslie Davenport said the report’s release made for a very emotional day.

“It’s not getting any easier,” Davenport said. “Kilah is not here, and she was taken by the hand of another person. Hopefully, he’ll have to serve more time.”

Union County District Attorney Trey Robison said Kilah’s death remains under investigation.

He said his office needs to fully review the new report. Robison also plans to meet with the man who performed the autopsy, Dr. Jonathan Privette, and confer with law enforcement colleagues, before deciding whether additional charges will be brought.

During the attack, Houser rammed Kilah’s head through a wall in a fit of rage. She nearly died at the time, suffering a fractured skull and damage to 90 percent of her brain. She was left severely impaired.

But she did attend the trial, sitting with her mother, Kirbi Davenport, and was present when the verdict was read after less than six hours of deliberation.

Kilah weighed 23 pounds when she died, according to the autopsy. She stopped breathing while sitting on her mother’s lap.

after Houser’s arrest, Kilah’s family was upset over the amount of prison time he faced. They joined local lawmakers and community activists to push for “Kilah’s Law,” which increased sentencing terms for five child-abuse-related felonies.

Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law last year.

And in May, President Barack Obama signed the federal Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act into law. It directs the U.S. attorney general to issue a report detailing each state’s penalties for child abuse, including whether the laws provide enhanced penalties in cases of severe child abuse.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/04/5150254/autopsy-for-child-abuse-victim.html#storylink=cpy

Grand jury considers murder charge in Kilah Davenport death

By Chris Dyches, WBTV
Posted: Monday, Sep. 29, 2014

UNION COUNTY - Just weeks after a North Carolina Medical Examiner report calls Kilah Davenport's death a homicide, a grand jury will decide if her step-father will face murder charges.

WBTV has learned that a Union County grand jury will determine if Joshua Houser will face second-degree murder charges in Davenport's death. The case was presented to the grand jury Monday morning.

Houser was convicted in February of felonious assault after he threw the then three-year-old girl into a wall, leaving her with severe brain damage, in May 2012. She died two weeks after the trial ended.

An autopsy completed in March 2014 showed Davenport died from pneumonia due to health complications from the attack. An additional report, completed in August, ruled Kilah Davenport's March 13 death as a "homicide."

Houser is currently slated to serve at least eight to ten years behind bars for felonious assault.

Kilah was at home with her mother in March when she took "two funny breaths." Her mother began performing CPR and called 911. They then rushed the young girl to the hospital, but she soon passed away.

In a section of the autopsy that references injuries, the report refers to Kilah as "emaciated." It listed Kilah's skin as appearing to be "very thin," and says her ribs and vertebrae were prominent. She also had an "overall appearance of dehydration."

"There is obvious skull deformity with bilateral concavities at the anterior calvarium," the Medical Examiner wrote.

Houser's trial lasted nine days and jurors deliberated for four hours before returning the guilty verdict. He has always insisted that he didn't do it.

Kilah's grandmother, Leslie Davenport, told WBTV earlier this month that she hopes Houser faces additional charges in her death.

"I am hoping that they can bring more charges, but that's up to the DA and the detectives and the good Lord," she said. "All I can do is just wait like everyone else."

She would have turned five in April.

After the autopsy was released earlier this month, WBTV reached out to the Union County District Attorney's Office to see if Houser could face additional charges in Kilah's death.

"The death of Kilah Davenport remains under investigation," they released in their previous statement. "No decision regarding any further charging of Joshua Houser will be made until the Union County District Attorney's Office has had the opportunity to fully review the autopsy findings, consult with the autopsy physician, and confer with our law enforcement colleagues. There is no further comment at this time."

In May, President Barack Obama signed a child abuse legislation, named after Kilah, into law. The legislation was crafted to make sure states across the country are taking child abuse seriously – was signed into law by President Obama Tuesday.

Congressman Robert Pittenger, of North Carolina's Ninth District, filed Kilah's Act in 2013. The legislation requires the US Attorney General to issue a state-by-state report on child abuse prevention laws within six months, with a particular focus on penalties for cases of severe child abuse.

That report is due to the U.S. Justice Department by November.

The goal, officials say, is to highlight deficient laws and provide states with the opportunity to fix those laws before another tragedy occurs.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, introduced the legislation in the Senate.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/29/5207968/grand-jury-considers-murder-charge.html#.VDL2mvldVCs#storylink=cpy