JULIAN JAMES-ROBERT WILLIAMS - 2 yo -(2009) St Paul MN

The Saint Paul Police Homicide Unit is investigating the death of two-year-old, Julian James-Robert Williams, as a probable homicide.
The boy died Thursday afternoon at Saint Paul Children's Hospital, where he was being treated for unexplained injuries.
Early Thursday morning, Saint Paul police officers and paramedics
were called to a residence in the 800 block of York Avenue on the report of a child not breathing.
Paramedics transported Williams to Saint Paul Children's Hospital, where he underwent surgery in an attempt to repair
injuries doctors believe were generally consistent with blunt force trauma.
Last evening, Homicide Unit investigators arrested two people on
suspicion of homicide.
The detail of how Julian Williams sustained the injuries that caused his death remains the focus of investigators.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office will be performing an autopsy later today to determine the manner and cause of death.

Only 2-year-old Julian Williams' killer or killers know what really happened to him, police say.
Still, St. Paul police Sgt. Jane Laurence said she believes "this is the kind of thing you could hardly keep inside."

Police wonder whether those involved in Julian's death have been
talking to people about what happened, and they're asking those people
to come forward.
"We're hoping if someone has a conscience, they'll do the right thing, sooner rather than later," said Sgt. Jim Gray.

Julian James-Robert Williams died in St. Paul on Sept. 10.

Whatever happened to the toddler was violent enough to cause lacerations to his liver and pancreas, police say.

"He was essentially beaten to death," Gray said, citing an
autopsy. "This was a 2-year-old kid who could not defend himself from
an adult, someone we believe was supposed to be caring for him."
After Julian died, police quickly arrested his mother, Jessica
Dominique Caldwell, and a man they describe as her boyfriend, Demetrius
Charles Willis. They are no longer in jail and haven't been charged in
the case. But police say they still believe Caldwell or Willis or both
caused Julian's injuries, Laurence said. Police said they don't think
anyone else was involved.
Neither Caldwell, 22, nor Willis, 21, could be reached for comment.

Willis' mother said she doesn't believe either was responsible.

Rose Curtis said Caldwell and Willis were not a couple — they were just friends, she said.
Yet Curtis said her son "loved the baby like it was his own, and little Julian loved him."

Julian "was the sweetest baby in the world," said Curtis, who spent
time with the toddler. "He wasn't a crybaby or anything like that."
Last year, seven children died in Minnesota in homicides in
which the "suspected, alleged or convicted perpetrator" was the parent
or another relative, guardian, child care provider or the parent's
spouse or intimate partner, according to the Minnesota Coalition for
Battered Women's Femicide Report.
Before Julian died, the last child homicide in St. Paul was in
2007; 15-month-old Destiny Jackson's father was sent to prison for
fatally beating her.
Nationally, about 54 percent of the homicides of children
younger than 5 were committed by a parent, according to FBI data on
homicides between 1976 and 2005. The data also show 24 percent were
committed by a friend or acquaintance and 6 percent by another family
member.
Julian's Story / Police and paramedics were called to the
Payne-Phalen neighborhood at 5:06 a.m. Sept. 10 about a child who
wasn't breathing, Gray said. Paramedics took Julian to Children's
Hospitals and Clinics in St. Paul.
"He was not in good shape," Gray said.

Julian, who had bruises, went into surgery, and doctors could
see his injuries weren't from an accident but from "some kind of
intentional act," Gray said. The boy died that afternoon.

An autopsy found Julian died of severe blunt-force trauma, Gray said.

"We have theories about what possibly might have led up to it,"
Gray said, adding that investigators had been speaking with many people
to try to rule out or confirm their theories. Gray said he didn't want
to discuss the theories because of the active investigation.
The boy lived with his mother in St. Paul; the address where he
was found not breathing, in the 800 block of York Avenue, was Curtis'
home.
Police believe Julian was injured between about 9 p.m. Sept. 9
and 5 a.m. Sept. 10. The start of the timeframe is based on a
surveillance video of Julian as he and Caldwell rode a Metro Transit
bus to Curtis' home, Gray said.
On the video, police could "determine what Julian's state was
on the bus ride and see his behavior wasn't consistent with having
already been injured," Gray said.
Curtis said Julian and Caldwell came to her home about 9:30
p.m. Sept. 9. Julian sat in bed with Curtis and "was fine," she said in
a recent interview.
While Julian was at her home that night, Curtis said, "he never
cried. He didn't seem like he was sick." She said she didn't see
bruises on him.
About 3 a.m. Sept. 10, Willis woke his mother and said that
Julian was vomiting, that he had given the boy water and that he was
fine, Curtis said. Caldwell was sleeping when this happened, she said.
Curtis said she went back to sleep.
"We really don't know what happened," Curtis said.

Curtis said she doesn't believe the medical examiner's finding that Julian's death was a homicide.

"I don't think Jessica or my son would have done something to
the baby," she said. "That was the nicest, most loving baby in the
world."
'Two Huge Risk Factors' / Julian's autopsy didn't show previous
injuries, and there was no abuse documented in Hennepin or Ramsey
counties, Gray said.
Caldwell and Willis have given police information, but "we believe they're possibly holding something back," Gray said.

Julian was generally healthy, although police were told the boy
had had digestive problems since he was born, which meant he couldn't
eat certain foods, Gray and Laurence said.
The digestive problems were a "source of concern" for Julian's
caretakers because "every meal, they had to deal with what they could
and could not feed him," Gray said. "We could see how it could be a
frustration."
Another potential frustration: Julian was being toilet trained, Laurence said.

"We're also open to the idea that it had nothing to do with him
and he was handy and emotions got out of control," Laurence said.
Connie Skillingstad, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse
Minnesota, said toilet training and having a child with special needs
"are two huge risk factors" for abuse or maltreatment. Also, many
families are frustrated over loss of jobs and never having enough
money, she said.
"The child ends up being the most vulnerable piece of the
equation when the parent has had it up to their eyeballs," Skillingstad
said. "They may, unfortunately, do something they wouldn't, under other
circumstances, think of doing."
'Justice For Julian' / Willis' convictions in Minnesota include
two in 2008 for violating an order for protection or no-contact order,
and two in 2007 for felony domestic assault, according to court
records. Willis also was ruled delinquent as a juvenile in
domestic-violence-related assaults in 2003 and 2006, a criminal
complaint said.
The assaults involved the same woman, described in criminal
complaints as Willis' girlfriend at the time. In September 2006, Willis
assaulted the woman at a bus stop — pinching her arms and legs, biting
her shoulder and punching her about six times on the arms and legs, a
complaint said.
The following month, Willis assaulted the girlfriend and her
mother, a complaint said. At one point, he grabbed an 18-month-old
child that he and the girlfriend had together with one arm and
continued to hit his girlfriend's mother.
Caldwell doesn't have any convictions in Minnesota.

Laurence described Caldwell's extended family as "real grounded in their faith."

"Their first goal is to support her in all this, but I think
they'd like to move to the next goal of understanding what happened,"
she said.
Police have talked to the Ramsey County attorney's office about
the case, but they aren't in a position to file charges yet, Gray said.
Police want "justice for Julian," Laurence said. Still, she
said, she knows the outcome "is going to break somebody's heart,
because the two people involved are also children of someone else."

Mom's boyfriend charged in St. Paul tot's death



By PAT PHEIFER, Star Tribune

February 1, 2011
Almost 16 months after Julian James-Robert Williams, 2, was viciously punched or kicked to death, a St. Paul man has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of second-degree murder in the tot's death.
Demetrius C. Willis, 23, the boyfriend of Julian's mother, made a brief appearance Monday afternoon in Ramsey County District Court and was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
The grand jury handed up its indictment Thursday; it was public Monday. Willis is charged with aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder while committing first-degree assault, three other counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree manslaughter. His next court appearance is Feb. 14.
No criminal complaint will be filed, but other court documents depict Julian's last hours:
Willis and Julian's mother were at the home of Willis' mother and stepfather when they called 911 about 5 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2009. Julian had been "restless and whiny" between 2 and 5 a.m., the couple told investigators, and when Willis picked up the boy about 5 a.m., he was "lifeless."
A surgeon who operated on Julian later told police that he removed quantities of blood from the boy's abdominal cavity and knew then that Julian probably wouldn't survive. The toddler had lacerations on his liver, spleen and pancreas, probably from being repeatedly punched or kicked, the surgeon said.
Later that day, Julian's death was ruled a homicide.
A search warrant affidavit unsealed in November said Julian's mother was "evasive and uncooperative" when hospital staff and investigators asked about Julian's injuries. Willis was "defensive."
Julian and his mother had taken the bus from their E. Arlington Avenue home to see Willis at his parents' St. Paul home in the 800 block of York Avenue about 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 9. Willis was alone with the boy for about five minutes while his mother went to Rainbow Foods.
Willis told police that Julian slept in his basement bedroom while he and the boy's mother "watched movies and had sex until about 2 a.m. when ... Julian started to cry." They gave him water and he went back to sleep. When he picked the boy up at 5 a.m., Willis said, Julian wasn't breathing.
Willis has a history of domestic abuse as a juvenile and an adult, police have said. He was released from St. Cloud prison in February 2009 after serving 14 months of a 21-month sentence for violating an order for protection filed against him by a former girlfriend, who is the mother of his 6-year-old son.
Willis and Julian's mother were arrested the day the boy died, but both were released pending further investigation. Neither has cooperated with authorities, police have said.
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=114964984

St. Paul mother, 23, charged in death of 2-year-old

• Updated: February 3, 2011
  

Jessica D. Caldwell, the mother of 2-year-old Julian James-Robert Williams, who was punched or kicked to death in September 2009, has been indicted on murder charges.
Caldwell, 23, apparently fled the state when she learned she would be charged in the toddler's death. She turned herself in to police in Huntsville, Ala., on Tuesday night and is being held in jail there.
She and her boyfriend, Demetrius C. Willis, 23, were indicted by a grand jury Jan. 27. Each is charged with seven counts of murder and manslaughter. The indictment against Caldwell was made public Thursday.
Julian died in the early morning hours of Sept. 10, 2009. Caldwell had taken him on the bus from their home on E. Arlington Avenue in St. Paul to the home where Willis was staying with his mother and stepfather in the 800 block of York Avenue. Both Caldwell and Willis said Julian slept in their bed and was fussy and whiny while they had sex and watched a movie.
About 5 a.m., they noticed that the boy was not breathing and called for an ambulance. A surgeon at St. Paul Children's Hospital later told police that he removed vast quantities of blood from Julian's abdominal cavity during emergency surgery and knew then that the boy wouldn't survive. The surgeon said Julian's injuries likely came from being punched or kicked that morning.

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/115238789.html

Boyfriend's trial to open in St. Paul toddler's death
Article by: LORA PABST , Star Tribune Updated: September 18, 2011 - 9:23 PM


The video from a Metro Transit bus shows 2-year-old Julian James-Robert Williams "happy, playful and giggling" as he rode with his mother to stay overnight with her boyfriend in St. Paul in September 2009, according to court records.

About eight hours later, the toddler arrived at the hospital with abdominal injuries so severe that medical personnel believed he had been hit with a fist or kicked several times, court records show. His mother told police that doctors at the hospital described his injuries as consistent with being "hit by a car."

Julian died the afternoon of Sept. 10, 2009.

On Monday, the mother's boyfriend, Demetrius C. Willis, 23, is scheduled to go on trial in Ramsey County District Court on four counts of unintentional second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree manslaughter in connection with Julian's death.

Julian's mother, Jessica D. Caldwell, 24, is facing the same charges and is scheduled for trial in October. Caldwell and Willis were indicted by a grand jury earlier this year.

Authorities haven't said who they believe inflicted Julian's injuries. But prosecutors noted in court records that after Julian and his mother arrived at the home of Willis' mother and stepfather, Caldwell and Willis were the only people who had continuous contact with Julian.

Julian slept in the same bed with Caldwell and Willis that night. Caldwell told hospital staff that he woke up about 2 a.m. complaining that his stomach hurt and he wanted water, according to court records. She said he threw up and was whiny throughout the night. They called 911 about 5 a.m. after realizing he was limp and not breathing.

"They both deny doing anything to cause injury to the child," prosecutors wrote. "However, the evidence establishes that at some point after arriving at [the York Avenue home], Williams endured a horrendous beating which resulted in his death."

Prosecutors sought to introduce evidence of Willis' history of domestic violence, which included two felony convictions for domestic assault and two convictions for violations of domestic abuse no contact orders.

Willis' defense attorneys argued that the jury shouldn't hear Willis' criminal history because it could be unfairly prejudicial.

On Friday, District Judge Gary Bastian issued an order prohibiting the admission of the criminal history.

Court filings indicate that attorneys for both Willis and Caldwell intend to present a defense that points to other possible perpetrators, including another family member.

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/130094008.html

A St. Paul toddler dies violently; two years later, a jury is called
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 09/19/2011 11:14:09 PM CDT

Who killed Julian Williams?

The 2-year-old toddler was giggling and scampering about as he and his mother, Jessica Caldwell, rode a Metro Transit bus to the St. Paul home of her boyfriend, Demetrius Willis, on the night of Sept. 9, 2009.

By 2 p.m. the next day, Julian was dead.

Doctors noted bruises on his abdomen, chest and face. He had lost about 2 liters of blood. His spleen and pancreas were ruptured. He was limp.

Caldwell, 24, and Willis, 23, were indicted on murder charges. Willis' trial began Monday with jury selection.

Both have denied killing Julian. And there's a new twist to the case: Defense attorneys will point fingers at Caldwell's brother and Willis' mother.

Darryl Spencer, Caldwell's now-17-year-old brother, lived at their mother's home on Arlington Avenue in St. Paul with Caldwell and Julian.

Willis lived with his mother, Rose Curtis, and his stepfather in the 800 block of York Avenue at the house from which Julian was rushed to the hospital the day he died.

Caldwell's attorney, Ira Whitlock, said police had "tunnel vision" about the case from the beginning. They believed Caldwell was trying to protect her boyfriend.

"I don't think they wanted to hear anything other than 'Demetrius Willis killed this baby.' They were focused on Demetrius Willis, and that was it," Whitlock said.

Whitlock said he doesn't have "any real evidence" that Curtis could have beaten Julian but that he has to raise the possibility to protect Jessica Caldwell.
"They had no evidence that (Caldwell) did anything," Whitlock said.

Spencer is another story, the attorney said. Whitlock quoted a police report as saying Caldwell told them her younger brother, who was 15 at the time, had struck Julian that day.

Julian told his mother, "Darryl hit me!" Whitlock said. When Caldwell confronted Spencer about the charge, the teen said Julian had bitten him, so he retaliated. Whitlock called it "an accident."

Phone numbers could not be located for Spencer or Curtis.

Nicole Kubista, one of the attorneys for Willis, said they could not talk about the case with the trial beginning this week.

CHARGES DELAYED

Prosecutors have said they will present medical, police and civilian witnesses to prove the case against Willis.

Caldwell and Willis were arrested shortly after Julian died but were released pending further investigation. No charges came until more than 16 months later, when they were both indicted on four counts of murder and three counts of manslaughter.

The indictment is thin on details. But an affidavit for a search warrant for wiretaps on Willis' and Caldwell's cell phones, dated 10 days after Julian's death, makes it clear police believed either or both were responsible.

"Investigators believe that Jessica Caldwell and Demetrius Willis know what happened to Julian Williams which caused his death," the affidavit said.

Police said they believed the two would talk about what happened "and what they are doing to avoid cooperating with law enforcement and avoid prosecution of one or both of them."

According to the affidavit: Police went to the home on York Avenue after a 5:06 a.m. call about a child not breathing or moving. Willis was holding Julian.

He told police the boy woke up crying about 2 a.m. but then went back to sleep. At 5 a.m., Willis and Caldwell noticed something was wrong. Willis said he picked up Julian and "ran like a football player" upstairs to the main level. He said Julian "kinda hit his head" on the wall, but he just kept going.

At the hospital, Caldwell was "evasive and uncooperative" with police, the affidavit said. And Caldwell's father told police Willis became defensive when medical staff asked him about Julian's bruises.

Doctors reported that Julian's injuries were a result of severe blunt force, such as punches or kicks.

In a summary of the information gleaned from the cell phones, police said they monitored Caldwell's phone for 23 days. There were 151 "pertinent" calls out of a total of 1,639. Ninety of the pertinent calls were audio calls, and 61 were text messages.

Police tapped Willis' phone for 20 days. Of 3,310 total calls, 71 were "pertinent" to the murder investigation, they said. Forty of those were audio calls, and 31 were text messages.

Still at issue is whether Ramsey County District Judge Gary Bastian will allow the prosecution to introduce evidence of Willis' past crimes.

In 2005, he assaulted his 16-year-old girlfriend, Justine Fair, strangling her, hitting her on the face and chin and punching her in the back of her head, according to a memorandum filed by the state. The argument was over his ability to care for their 8-month-old. He was convicted of fifth-degree assault.

In 2006, the two argued again. Willis pinched and punched the woman on her arms and legs "multiple times," the memorandum said.

About six weeks later, he attacked Fair again. Willis was convicted of felony domestic assault in both attacks.

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522.

TIMELINE

Sept. 9, 2009: Jessica Caldwell and her son, Julian, arrive about 9 p.m. at the home of Caldwell's boyfriend, Demetrius Willis.

Sept. 10, 2009: Julian wakes up crying about 2 a.m. complaining of a stomachache. At 5 a.m., he is not breathing. Someone calls 911. At 2 p.m., Julian is pronounced dead. Police arrest Willis and Caldwell; they are released pending further investigation.

Jan. 27, 2011: Willis and Caldwell are indicted on murder and manslaughter charges by the Ramsey County Grand Jury.

Sept. 19, 2011: Jury selection begins in trial of Willis.

Oct. 10, 2011: Trial set to begin for Caldwell.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_18932996?source=most_emailed

No sign mom's boyfriend caused death of boy, 2, defense says in St. Paul case
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 09/22/2011 11:57:59 PM CDT


Jessica Caldwell's voice on the 911 call was steady.

"My son is not breathing, he's not moving or anything," the 22-year-old St. Paul woman said. "Oh, my god."

"He's not breathing at all?" the voice on the other end asked.

"He's not breathing at all. He's lifeless. He's nothing at all."

Julian Williams would never regain consciousness. Shortly after 5 a.m. Sept. 10, 2009, paramedics rushed the 2-year-old to Children's Hospital in St. Paul, where specialists worked on him for hours. He was bleeding internally from chest and abdominal injuries.

At 2 p.m., doctors pronounced him dead.

Caldwell and her boyfriend, Demetrius Willis, 23, were indicted on murder and manslaughter charges.

Testimony began Thursday in the case against Willis in Ramsey County District Court.

Prosecutor David Miller told the jury in his opening statement that Willis and Caldwell were the only people with Julian in the hours before he stopped breathing.

Caldwell and her son were spending the night at Willis' home in the 800 block of York Avenue in St. Paul. They took a bus there, arriving about 9 p.m. Sept. 9.

Willis' mother, Rose Curtis, who also lived at the house, saw Caldwell and Julian when they arrived. Later that night, a friend of Willis' stopped by. After the friend left, about 12:30 a.m., only Caldwell and Willis had control over Julian, Miller said.

"They were exclusively present to witness the distress this child went through in the final hours of his life," Miller said.
And they were the ones, Miller said, who repeatedly claimed they knew nothing about how Julian got injured. He called Caldwell "an accomplice."

Caldwell told police that Julian woke about 2 a.m., fussing, complaining of a stomach ache and wanting water. He vomited and then went back to sleep, she said.

About 5 a.m., the toddler was awake and vomiting again. Then he went limp, she told police.

No one will testify that they saw Willis beat Julian at Willis' York Avenue home.

The defense emphasized that point during its opening statement.

"Not one witness, not one piece of evidence, will say anything but that Demetrius treated Julian with anything but kindness or put anything but a kind hand on Julian that night," said defense attorney Nicole Kubista.

There is no question that Julian was injured, she said.

"At issue is that Demetrius Willis did not cause those injuries and did not cause the death of that child," Kubista said.

The defense seemed poised to focus the jury's attention on Caldwell instead.

Kubista said Caldwell's tone in the 911 call was "eerily calm," while Willis was frantic. Caldwell's demeanor was "upbeat, casual" when police interviewed her less than four hours after her son died, Kubista said.

"You'll hear that she didn't cry. She laughed during her interview," the defense attorney said. "She laughed approximately 24 times during her interview."

The jury also heard testimony from a Ramsey County medical examiner. Dr. Kelly Mills said there were "numerous bruises" on the boy's face, chest, abdomen and the back of his head.

One bruise, on his torso, was 1-1/4 inches across, and none was older than 24 hours, she said.

Describing graphic photos of Julian's autopsy that jurors viewed on a large white screen, Mills showed where his pancreas was transected, or "split into two," she said. He also had a cut in his liver.

The injuries that she observed were likely the result of "either one impact that was very forceful or multiple impacts in the same location," she said.

The bruises looked like they were made by "body parts, hands, fists, that type of thing," Mills said.

Mills ruled that Julian died of "complications of blunt-force chest and abdominal trauma." The manner was homicide, she said.

Caldwell's trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3.

http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_18958135?nclick_check=1

St. Paul man denied having role in toddler's death, told police 'I loved that little boy'
By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 09/23/2011 10:04:39 PM CDT

During a police interview about the suspicious death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son, Demetrius Willis looked at times as if he would be sick.

He was alternately shaken and defensive during the one-hour videotaped discussion, which was played in court Friday during day two of Willis' murder trial.

"Demetrius, somewhere along the way, Julian was used as a punching bag," St. Paul homicide investigator James Gray said to Willis during the interview. "Julian's just 2 years old. He can't put up a fight."

"You're trying to say I did something," Willis said. "Everything you're asking me, you have to ask his mother."

"Something happened to a 2-year-old boy that took his life," the investigator said.

According to court documents, little Julian James-Robert Williams was brought by ambulance to Children's Hospital in St. Paul in the early morning hours of Sept. 10, 2009. His mother, Jessica Caldwell, and Willis told authorities the boy had stopped breathing while at Willis' York Avenue home in St. Paul.

Doctors performed emergency surgery and worked on the boy for hours but could not save him. They reported the boy was bleeding internally from chest and abdominal injuries.

More than a year later, Willis and Caldwell were indicted on murder and manslaughter charges.

Willis' trial in Ramsey County District Court began this week. Caldwell's trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3.

The prosecution called investigator Gray to the witness stand Friday. He gave details about meeting Willis and Caldwell at the hospital Sept. 10, but the rest of his time on the stand was spent watching the taped interview.
Throughout the video, Willis denies knowing how Julian came to suffer numerous bruises on his head, chest and torso, lacerated organs and internal bleeding.

He said the boy had been fine when Julian and the boy's mother showed up at Willis' house the evening of Sept. 9, 2009.

He told Gray that Julian woke up about 2 a.m. complaining of a stomach ache. He had diarrhea during the day, Willis said. Willis brought a glass of water to the boy, who then said he felt better and went back to sleep.

Willis said that at some point, the boy whimpered and he and Caldwell discovered that Julian had vomited on his pillow and was sweating. Willis said he patted Julian on the back and the boy went to sleep again.

Willis said they continued to check on him and noticed about 5 a.m. that Julian wasn't breathing.

Willis said he started CPR while Caldwell called 911.

"I pushed and I pushed and I breathed in and breathed in," he said, noting that he didn't know how to administer CPR, but was trying.

When pressed about the timeline and sequence of events, Willis seemed a bit flustered, but his story didn't change dramatically.

"Everything just happened so fast," he said.

When the investigator asked if anyone ever disciplined Julian, Willis said that he had not and that Caldwell didn't even spank the boy.

Gray told Willis that Julian had dime-size bruises all over his torso. "I'm trying to figure out how those got there," he said.

Willis said that the bruises weren't there when he did CPR and that Caldwell had told him they weren't there when she gave Julian a bath before coming over. Willis said he was never alone with the boy.

"His mom was with him the whole time," he said.

"So were you," Gray said.

"I don't know nothin'," Willis said. "I'm a good person. I got my own son."

Gray told Willis that what happened to Julian likely happened at Willis' house and that someone had to know how he was injured so badly. The investigator said he would go to the interview room next door, where Caldwell was being questioned, to see if she was telling a different story.

"I'm not even worried about that," Willis said near the end of the interview. "I loved that little boy."

Prosecutors will continue questioning the investigator when the trial resumes Monday morning. They also plan to call Caldwell's mother, Willis' mother and medical staff who treated Julian.

http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_18962870?nclick_check=1

St. Paul: Witnesses testify in death of 2-year-old
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 09/28/2011 12:15:10 AM CDT


Rose Curtis entered the waiting room at Children's Hospital just in time to hear 2-year-old Julian Williams had died.

Julian had been at Curtis' St. Paul home hours earlier after her son's girlfriend brought him to the house with her for the night.

Curtis' son, Demetrius Willis, is on trial for murder and manslaughter in Ramsey County District Court. Testimony continued Tuesday.

" 'I told him something happened!' " Curtis exclaimed, according to witness Annette Covington. " 'I told him something was wrong with the baby.' "

Covington was at the hospital to offer support to her co-worker Migdalia Baez-Caldwell, the boy's grandmother.

She said she recalled Curtis saying that the baby had been sick that night, Sept. 10, 2009, and that she had encouraged "them" to take him to the hospital, presumably referring to Willis and the baby's mother, Jessica Caldwell. Curtis did not tell Covington what time she recommended the hospital trip.

In her testimony Tuesday, Curtis said nothing about being aware of a serious problem with the boy until her son awakened her about 5 a.m., saying Julian wasn't breathing.

Curtis testified that Willis, 23, came upstairs with Julian at some point during the night, saying he had thrown up. Willis was in the kitchen giving Julian a drink of water, Curtis said.

Julian was rushed to the emergency room after Caldwell called 911 at 5:06 a.m.

At 2 p.m., Julian was pronounced dead. Doctors had performed surgery, but the toddler had arrived with no heart rate.
Dr. Brad Feltis, a pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital in St. Paul, testified Monday that doctors removed 1.5 liters of blood from Julian's distended belly, more blood than the 1.3 liters or so normally circulating ina child that size.

Julian's pancreas was "split in two," Feltis said, he was covered in bruises and his liver was lacerated. Feltis said he had seen other such pancreas injuries in children caused by lap belts in auto accidents, for instance. But if treated right away, a child suffering an injury like Julian's could survive, he testified.

The medical examiner ruled Julian died of "complications of blunt-force chest and abdominal trauma." The manner was homicide, Dr. Kelly Mills said.

At 8:45 the night before, Julian was riding a bus with his mother to Willis' house in the 800 block of York Avenue.

The jury Tuesday viewed surveillance video from the bus showing a rambunctious Julian jumping up the steps, giggling with his mother, kicking, babbling and throwing a doll.

Later, as news from doctors grew increasingly grim, Julian's grandmother's fiance, Alex Glass, called Willis.

"Dude, where you at?" he said he asked Willis.

Willis arrived shortly thereafter, and Glass questioned him in the hallway. Glass testified that Willis told him Julian was sleeping when he and Caldwell arrived at Willis' house about 9 p.m. He took the child from her and laid him down, he told Glass. Caldwell went across the street to Rainbow Foods to buy some fruit.

Curtis, Willis' mother, told a different story. She testified Tuesday that Julian was awake. "We sat on (my) bed, watched TV," she said.

Glass also asked Willis about an injury he'd noticed on Julian's forehead two or three weeks before.

Willis said that when he was baby-sitting, Julian fell and hit his head in the garage. Outside the jury's presence, Glass said Caldwell had given him a different account of that injury. He did not say what that account was.

In other testimony Tuesday, Covington, the co-worker of Julian's grandmother, testified she observed Caldwell texting on her phone as her son lay dying. She was not interacting with family members, not crying and not hugging anyone, Covington said.

Feltis, the pediatric surgeon, called Caldwell's reaction to the tragedy "bizarre."

Caldwell faces the same charges as Willis. Her trial begins Oct. 10.

Testimony from defense witnesses begins this afternoon.

http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_18991354?nclick_check=1

Fellow inmate claims dead boy's mom admitted to causing fatal injuries
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 09/29/2011 11:04:23 AM CDT

The mother of a dead toddler told a jailmate in July that she - not her former boyfriend, who is now on trial - injured the boy by hitting him in the chest and shoving him against a toilet.

That's according to the testimony Wednesday of the jailmate, Nicole McDaniel, who came forward with her information only last week, attorneys said.

McDaniel's testimony boosted the case of the boyfriend, Demetrius Willis, 23, on trial for murder and manslaughter in the death of 2-year-old Julian Williams.

The boy's mother, Jessica Caldwell, also has been charged with murder and faces trial next month.

Julian died Sept. 10, 2009, of severe blunt-force injuries to his chest and abdomen, doctors testified. He and Caldwell had been spending the night at Willis' house in the 800 block of York Avenue in St. Paul.

So far, the evidence presented at trial has offered no clue as to how the boy was injured. The couple said only that Julian had vomited that night and that they noticed about 5 a.m. that he was not breathing.

But Friday, McDaniel gave information to St. Paul police that she said came from Caldwell.

Caldwell asserted her Fifth Amendment right not to testify in Willis' case. Her trial begins Oct. 10.

McDaniel said she and Caldwell became close while in the Ramsey County Jail last spring and summer. They talked about old boyfriends and "bad things" they had done in their pasts, among other topics, she said.

McDaniel said she was feeling sad shortly before her daughter's birthday in mid-July, knowing she would be in jail on the occasion. Caldwell came into her cell and asked what was wrong. They got to talking.
At some point, Caldwell told her about what happened to Julian.

Two days before his death, mother and son were on the bus and the boy was "acting up," McDaniel said Caldwell told her.

"She said he was acting like a girl," so she "chest-ized" him, or hit him on the chest, McDaniel explained. Caldwell made a hitting gesture on her own chest when she used the word, McDaniel testified. It made him fall down, she said.

Julian had been sick to his stomach before he and Caldwell took the bus to Willis' home the night of Sept. 9, 2009, McDaniel said.

When he threw up again at Willis' house, "she, like, yanked him to the toilet" to teach him the proper place to vomit, McDaniel said. Caldwell grabbed Julian and he hit the toilet, she said.

Caldwell didn't say how hard he bumped it. "She just said he wouldn't go to sleep; he was like whining and throwing up all night," McDaniel said.

When Caldwell woke up around 3 or 5 a.m., she saw Julian lying on the floor and "thought he was blue."

"She knew he wasn't breathing; she knew he was dead," McDaniel said. She said she woke Willis and he called 911.

As Caldwell told the story, she warned McDaniel not to cry; she would leave the room if she did.

"I got six kids," McDaniel said. "I love kids. She's not a mother at all."

"Was she crying at all?" asked defense attorney Lisa Hallberg.

"No," McDaniel said. "She was laughing."

Other witnesses testified that Caldwell was stone-faced during the hours at Children's Hospital in St. Paul in which doctors and nurses tried in vain to save her son.

As they talked with her about Julian throughout the day, Caldwell "said that she knew (what happened), but she didn't say nothing because they would've thought she's a bad mom," McDaniel said.

McDaniel said no one had made her any promises in exchange for her testimony.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor David Miller, McDaniel said Caldwell initially told other inmates that she was behind bars for killing "an old man."

But word got out.

When another inmate said, "She killed her baby," Caldwell replied, "My boyfriend did that s---," McDaniel said.

http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_19000033

Ramsey County jury: Boyfriend guilty of manslaughter
Article by: LORA PABST , Star Tribune Updated: September 29, 2011 - 10:25 PM
Two-year-old son of his girlfriend suffered brutal internal injuries two years ago. Mother faces trial next.

A Ramsey County jury Thursday night found Demetrius Willis not guilty of murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son, but found him guilty of second-degree manslaughter while committing child neglect.

Willis, 23, was acquitted of four counts of unintentional second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree manslaughter. After deliberating about eight hours, the jury determined that Willis failed to get help for Julian James-Robert Williams after the toddler had suffered severe internal injuries. After the verdict was read, Willis put his head on the table.

"Mr. Willis is really disappointed," said Nicole Kubista, one of his attorneys. "He maintains he never knew Julian was as sick as he was."

Kubista said that in finding Willis not guilty on the other counts, "it seems like the jury realizes Jessica was the main actor."

Jessica Caldwell, Julian's mother, is facing the same charges and is to go on trial Oct. 10. Prosecutor David Miller said the state is looking forward to Caldwell's trial.

The jury heard details and saw pictures of Julian's injuries -- a transected vein and pancreas, large amounts of internal bleeding and bruises over his body -- during the weeklong trial that began Sept. 22. The case presented by prosecutors offered scarce evidence about how Julian's injuries occurred and focused mainly on the timing of his symptoms early on Sept. 10, 2009. Julian vomited, complained of thirst and was whiny through the night, according to testimony.

During closing arguments Thursday morning, prosecutor Karen Kugler homed in on the testimony of Julian's day-care provider and family members who said they didn't notice anything wrong with him the day before his death. She also reminded the jury of bus video footage that showed Julian playing and laughing on his way to Willis' house at 833 York Av. in St. Paul shortly before 9 p.m.

Dr. Brad Feltis, a pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital, testified that he believed Julian's injuries occurred six to eight hours before he was found not breathing and without a pulse about 5 a.m. the next day. Feltis also testified that Julian probably could have survived if he had received medical help earlier.

"Two people are responsible for his death," Kugler said. "These are the only two people who were with Julian when the injuries had to have occurred."

Kugler questioned the testimony of Nicole McDaniel, a former jailmate of Caldwell, who came forward in the middle of the trial and said Caldwell told her she hit her son in the chest two days before his death and pushed him into the bathroom at Willis' house, causing him to hit the toilet.

"Even if you want to believe that's true, that doesn't mean Jessica Caldwell caused Julian's death when she hit him in the chest two days earlier," Kugler said.

Defense attorney Lisa Hallberg told the jury that the state didn't prove Willis had anything to do with Julian's death. She said that Willis didn't know Julian was dying and that when he realized how grave the child's injuries were, he tried to get help. Willis told police that he tried to give Julian CPR even though he didn't know how to perform it.

After two separate rulings by District Judge Gary Bastian, the jury didn't hear about Willis' criminal history, which includes two felony convictions for domestic assault and two convictions for violations of domestic abuse no-contact orders. Those incidents involved Willis' ex-girlfriend and her mother.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 23. Under state sentencing guidelines, Willis could face eight years in prison.

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/130825658.html

St. Paul woman's trial delayed in son's homicide
Pioneer Press
Updated: 10/03/2011 11:52:20 PM CDT

The trial of a St. Paul woman whose 2-year-old son was beaten to death has been delayed at her attorney's request.

Jessica Dominique Caldwell, 24, was indicted on murder and manslaughter charges in January in the Sept. 10, 2009, death of her son, Julian James-Robert Williams. Her trial was to have begun Oct. 10.

The new date is Nov. 28.

Caldwell's attorney, Ira Whitlock, asked Ramsey County District Judge Gary Bastian for the continuance, saying he needed more time to talk to witnesses, get jail phone records and get a transcript of the trial of Caldwell's co-defendant, among other things.

Prosecutor Karen Kugler opposed the delay.

On Thursday, Caldwell's ex- boyfriend and co-defendant Demetrius Willis was acquitted in Ramsey County District Court of six out of seven murder and manslaughter charges. He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter while committing or attempting to commit child neglect or endangerment. Willis is to be sentenced on Nov. 23.

Julian died after he spent the night with his mother and Willis at Willis' home in the 800 block of York Avenue in St. Paul.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_19034402?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com

St. Paul: Mother acquitted in killing of toddler
By Rachel Wedlund
Pioneer Press
Updated: 12/11/2011 11:05:27 AM CST

After almost two full days of deliberating, a jury Saturday night acquitted Jessica Dominique Caldwell of murder and manslaughter in the beating death of her 2-year-old son.

Upon hearing the verdict - not guilty on all seven counts - Caldwell's mother and other family members sobbed in relief. Outside of the courtroom, they cried hard and joined hands in praise, some of them crashing to the floor in relief.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus," her family repeated outside the Ramsey County courtroom.

The boy, Julian Williams, died in September 2009 after suffering internal injuries, including a severed pancreas, torn veins and arteries, and dozens of bruises.

Caldwell, 24, was charged with four counts of murder and three counts of manslaughter.
In a separate trial, her boyfriend, Demetrius Willis, was convicted in September on one count of manslaughter but acquitted of other murder and manslaughter charges.

Prosecutor David Miller said in his closing arguments Friday that Caldwell had assaulted her son because he was fussy.

In her testimony and her statements to police, Caldwell maintained that she did not hurt the boy and that she did not witness Willis hurt him, either.

During Caldwell's trial, the jury heard several witness accounts of the events Sept. 9 and 10, 2009, the day Julian died.

The night before Julian died, Caldwell brought him for an overnight stay at Willis' house in St. Paul, in the 800 block of York Avenue. The mother and son took the bus and arrived about 9 p.m. A short while after arriving, Caldwell took a quick trip across the street to a grocery store. Around midnight, a friend of Willis' stopped over for about an hour.
During the time frame that doctors estimate the boy was fatally injured, between 2 and 5 a.m., Caldwell and Willis were alone with the toddler, according to most accounts. Julian vomited several times and requested water. At 5 a.m., Julian had stopped breathing, and Caldwell called 911. Julian arrived at Children's Hospital in St. Paul about 5:30 a.m.

The pediatric surgeon said the boy's injuries likely caused him great pain.

Caldwell's attorney, Ira Whitlock, argued throughout the trial that Caldwell was a good mother who protected and loved her only child.

"God is good. This young lady is innocent," Whitlock said, breaking into tears outside of the courtroom after the verdict. "You can't win every case. But some you just have to win. This was one that you have to win. It wasn't me; I was a vessel for God's will."

On Friday, Whitlock had theorized that the fatal blows came either from Caldwell's 15-year-old brother or Willis, who was 21 at the time.

Prosecutors were unavailable to comment Saturday after the verdict was announced.

Whitlock said Saturday that only God knows what happened to Julian.

"We may not understand his death, because we are only human," he said. "But, what I know for sure is that now this little boy can rest in heaven knowing that his mother was not wrongly convicted of his murder."

http://www.twincities.com/ci_19521543

No justice for Julian. Looks like the POS boyfriend may serve 8 years or less. And the mother is innocent. Something is wrong...what a disgusting outcome.