Grandmother's appeal of neglect charge rejected

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

By Erin Smith  esmith@journalandcourier.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals Wednesday denied a request to overturn a Benton County jury's guilty verdict of an Oxford grandmother's neglect charges.

Margaret E. Williams was found guilty Feb. 23, 2004, of administering grueling forms of punishment to her late grandson, Nicolas Zavala, in the last few months before he went missing.

She was sentenced to 10 years in jail for five counts of felony neglect and remains in the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis.

Williams filed an appeal to the Benton Circuit Court decision, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions, the sentence was inappropriate and the convictions of all five counts violated her double jeopardy rights, court documents state.

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the jury's decision and Benton Circuit Court Judge Rex Kepner's sentence.

"It is not Williams' chosen method of corporal punishment that makes her actions criminal, but rather, it is the length of time during which she forced N.Z. to undergo this punishment," Judge Paul Mathias' opinion states, "N.Z." referring to Nicolas Zavala.

"Being forced to kneel on a broom handle for two hours can only be described as pain that goes well beyond any boundary of reasonableness."

As a form of punishment for misbehavior by Nicolas, Williams was found guilty of making the boy:

· Kneel on a broomstick for extended periods while holding heavy vegetable cans, jars or jugs of water or sand in his hands.

· Lean his forehead against a wall for several hours with his body at an incline and his feet two to three feet from the wall. A rag or towel would be used to cushion Nicolas' forehead, according to court documents. The discipline was referred to by Williams as "Muncie exercises."

According to court documents, Williams would make Nicolas start the exercises again if the towel fell to the floor.

The judge's decision also states that Williams was previously convicted for providing drugs to her son, resisting law enforcement and lying to police. Her past criminal history made it appropriate for the trial court to impose consecutive sentences that were each extended by six months.

Williams' double jeopardy claim that she was convicted for the same act five times was found incorrect. Prosecutors noted that punishments occurred five separate times, the judge's decision states.

Nicolas was 11 when he was reported missing Aug. 13, 2002. His remains were discovered April 18, 2003, in Iroquois County, Ill., across the state line from Benton County.

An Illinois court had granted Williams temporary custody of Nicolas, who previously spent several years as a ward of that state.

No charges have been filed in connection with Nicolas' disappearance and death.

A single neglect charge was also filed and later dismissed against Miguel Campos, Nicolas' uncle, who was living with Williams at the time of Nicolas' disappearance. Campos was accused of helping Williams administer Nicolas' punishments.

Judge Susan Orr Henderson of Fountain Circuit Court, where the case moved from Benton County for a change of venue, dismissed the neglect charge April 25. Benton County prosecutors have filed an appeal, deputy prosecutor Craig Jones said.

Campos also faces two charges of battery in the same case. The battery charges will not be decided until the appeal of the neglect charge is complete.