Judge hands down max sentence to babysitter who killed toddler by covering playpen with queen mattress

Brittany Napier appearing in court (WOWK screenshot). Inset: Za’khi Williams (Digital Memorial).

A 32-year-old babysitter in West Virginia will spend multiple years behind bars after she admitted to killing a 2-year-old boy in her care when covered his playpen with a mattress to prevent him from climbing out, which ended up suffocating the child.

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth D. Ballard on Monday ordered Brittany Napier to serve the maximum sentence of two to six years in a state correctional facility in the 2023 death of young Za’khi Williams, authorities confirmed to Law&Crime.

Napier in February pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect resulting in death and one count of involuntary manslaughter in Za’khi’s death. Ballard sentenced her to one year on the manslaughter charge and one to five years on the neglect charge, with the sentences running consecutively, meaning one after the other.

In addition to her time in detention, Napier must also serve 50 years of extended supervision upon her release and is prohibited from having any contact with her own children, Charleston, West Virginia, ABC and Fox affiliate WCHS reported .

According to court documents obtained by Huntington, West Virginia, NBC affiliate WSAZ, officers with the Dunbar Police Department at about 6 p.m. on July 11, 2023 responded to a 911 call regarding a 2-year-old not breathing at a residence located in the 1200 block of Parkway Drive in Dunbar, West Virginia.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the victim — later identified as Za’khi — and emergency medical personnel transported him via ambulance to a local hospital for treatment, but the boy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the facility.

Investigators reportedly said that Napier had been living at the Parkway Drive home for a few days and would regularly babysit the victim.

In an interview with authorities, Napier reportedly admitted that earlier that morning, she put Za’khi in his playpen, then placed a queen mattress over the top of the playpen to prevent the child from climbing out. Authorities said that the boy did try to climb out, but became pinned between the top bar of the playpen and the large mattress and ultimately suffocated.

Napier also admitted to her actions during her plea hearing in February.

“I put a mattress on top of a playpen and he got stuck between it causing him to suffocate and pass away because I made a horrible decision,” Napier said during the hearing, per WCHS.

On Monday, an emotional Napier reiterated that she never intended to harm Za’khi, reportedly speaking through tears as she told the court that she “made a horrible mistake.”

“I will never forgive myself. I’m truly so sorry to the family and everybody who loved Za’khi so dearly. I had no intention of causing any harm to sweet baby Za’khi. If I could trade him places, I would in a heartbeat,” she said, according to WCHS. “I truly never meant to hurt him.”

Za’khi’s mother, Caleigh Cheeks, also addressed the court before Napier was formally sentenced, requesting that she be given the maximum possible sentence.

“My whole family got ripped apart. I trusted somebody with his life and I will forever regret that decision,” Cheeks reportedly said. “My son will never get to grow up like everybody else’s kids and go to school and live a life. I’ll never be the same again. This has destroyed me and I can’t see myself forgiving for that,” she said. “My son is gone forever, no matter how many years you do, will make up for that.”

Referring to the situation as “tragic,” Ballard told Napier there was no excuse for what she did, saying he had no choice but to give her the maximum sentence, West Virginia MetroNews reported .

“Your egregious act caused an innocent child who was in your care to die, and I don’t think there’s any way to repair that,” the judge reportedly said.

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