The Austin Police have arrested Nicholas Williams after they say he spanked his 2-year-old daughter so hard that she died.

Nicholas Williams

According to the arrest affidavit, police and paramedics responded to a 911 call on May 23 to a residence in the 800 block of Slaughter Lane. A woman had called 911 and told the operator that a 2-year-old girl was not breathing.

When police arrived, they found Williams holding the girl, his daughter, who was not responsive. The officer began performing CPR on the child until paramedics arrived. The girl was taken to Dell Children’s Medical Center where she was pronounced dead an hour later.

Williams told police that he lightly spanked the girl with a belt because he caught her eating poop. He said her lips were already purple when he caught her eating the poop and believed this was because she was crying since she knew she would be in trouble. He said that he then put her down for a nap. When he checked on her later, he noticed there was blood and vomit on the bed where the girl was lying. He also said the girl was unresponsive and did not appear to be breathing.

Detectives also interviewed the woman that lived in the home that called 911. She was not the child’s mother. She told police that Williams left the girl in the bathroom and returned a short time later to find her eating poop. She told police that she did not see Williams beat the victim but heard him doing it.

The woman also told police that she went to bathroom and saw Williams holding the child. She said her lips were purple and she was having trouble breathing. After splashing water on her face, Williams was able to get the girl to start breathing again. The woman would check on the girl periodically because she was concerned. She also told police that Williams admitted to her that he hit the girl with the belt to punish her.

An autopsy was performed on the girl the next day. The deputy medical examiner noticed several bruises on the victim’s head, face, back, buttocks, chest and arms. The injuries were greatest in the head and buttocks region according to the arrest affidavit. The preliminary cause of death was ruled to be blunt force injuries.

Williams was charged with injury to a child, a first degree felony.