Brittany Napier is a woman from West Virginia who was convicted of the murder of a two year old boy
According to court documents Brittany Napier was babysitting two year old Za’khi and had placed the little boy in a playpen. However the little boy was attempting to climb out so Napier would put a queen size mattress over the playpen to prevent the child from climbing out
Za’khi would become trapped between the mattress and the railing of the playpen causing him to suffocate. Brittany Napier would call 911 and tell the operator the little boy was unresponsive. Za’khi would be rushed to the hospital however it would be too late and the two year old was pronounced dead
Brittany Napier would plead guilty to to one count of child neglect resulting in death and one count of involuntary manslaughter
Brittany would be sentenced to two years to five years in prison. She would also be sentenced to fifty years supervision and is banned from contacting her own children
Brittany Napier Case
A Kanawha County babysitter has been sentenced to prison in connection with the death of a 2-year-old that was in her care.
Brittany Napier, 32, of Dunbar pleaded guilty to gross child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death, a felony, and involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor, in February. Za’khi Williams, 2, was found unresponsive at Napier’s home on Parkway Drive in Dunbar on July 11, 2023.
On Monday, Napier’s attorney, John Sullivan, asked for Napier to serve one year in jail for the manslaughter charge and then be sentenced to home confinement for the felony, which Judge Kenneth Ballard later denied.
“Ms. Napier never intended for any harm to come to Za’khi but she acted grossly and negligently and her actions resulted in the death of a baby,” Sullivan said before noting many friends and relatives had sent letters of support to the court on her behalf.
Investigators indicated Napier said at the time of the incident that she put a mattress on top of the child’s pack-and-play to keep him contained. Williams became trapped between the railing of the playpen and the mattress.
“Ms. Napier never intended for any harm to come to Za’khi but she acted grossly and negligently and her actions resulted in the death of a baby,” Sullivan said before noting many friends and relatives had sent letters of support to the court on her behalf.
Investigators indicated Napier said at the time of the incident that she put a mattress on top of the child’s pack-and-play to keep him contained. Williams became trapped between the railing of the playpen and the mattress.
“My whole family got ripped apart. I trusted somebody with his life and I will forever regret that decision. 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.”
Ballard said the case was tragic and he didn’t have the words to describe how terrible of a situation it was.
“I don’t believe that I believe an alternative sentence is appropriate at all,” he said.
Ballard sentenced Napier to the maximum of one year in jail for the misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge to be followed consecutively by a one to five year sentence for the felony child neglect charge. She must also serve 50 years of extended supervision and is not allowed to have contact with her children.
