MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Whitehaven man was indicted on four felony counts in the death of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter last year, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said Wednesday.
Victor P. Williams, 28, is being held without bond in the Shelby County Jail. he is charged with first-degree murder in the perpetration of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.
According to a statement from Weirich’s office, investigators were called to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital on May 28, 2020, where Lanniah Anderson was brought by ambulance in critical condition and died a short time later.
They said the child’s mother left for work at 5 a.m. and that the baby and her two young brothers were left in Williams’ care at their apartment on East Holmes Road near Millbranch Road.
Williams told investigators that later that morning he was preparing breakfast for the two boys when he noticed Lanniah was unresponsive in her crib. He called 911 and said he did not know what happened to the baby.
An autopsy showed the cause of death to be multiple blunt force trauma.