Nicolas' guardian sentenced

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Dateline: Fowler, Indiana

Grandmother will serve 71¤2 years, 21¤2 more on probation

By Marc B. Geller

mgeller@journalandcourier.com

FOWLER - Margaret E. Williams was sentenced to 71¤2 years in prison and 21¤2 years supervised probation Monday in connection with the harsh punishments she meted out to her late grandson, Nicolas Zavala.

During a sentencing hearing in Benton Circuit Court here, Williams, 59, received two years of jail time on each of the five Class D felony counts, with six months suspended on each count. Williams, who was found guilty Feb. 20 on all five counts of neglect of a dependent, told the court Monday that she plans to appeal.

"I think she got a fair trial and I think she got a fair sentence," prosecutor Jud Barce said. "It's too bad that Nic isn't here to tell us what happened in his own words, but I think the result would be the same if he was."

According to court records, between May and August 2002, Nicolas was subjected to painful forms of punishment by Williams, formerly of Oxford, who allegedly was assisted by Nicolas' uncle, Miguel Campos. Campos, 19, is scheduled to stand trial on his own neglect charge Sept. 13-14.

Nicolas, 11, went missing on Aug. 13, 2002. His skeletal remains were discovered April 18, 2003, in Iroquois County, Ill. Police have not released Nicolas' cause of death. Williams and Campos have not been implicated in the boy's death.

Williams' alleged punishments included requiring Nicolas to:

· Kneel on a broomstick for extended periods while holding heavy vegetable cans or jars in his hands.

· Kneel on a broomstick for extended periods while holding jugs of water with his hands extended from his body.

· Kneel on a broomstick for extended periods while holding jugs of sand with his hands extended from his body.

· Lean his forehead against a wall for several hours with his body at an incline and his feet 2 to 3 feet from the wall. A rag or towel would be used to cushion Nicolas' forehead, according to court documents.

Judge Rex Kepner was unconvinced of the mitigators proposed Monday by defense attorney Brian Dekker, including Williams' poor health and her willingness to care for Nicolas in the absence of other caregivers. Kepner ordered Williams to serve her sentences on the five counts consecutively, based on three aggravators: her criminal history, the position of trust she held as Nicolas' guardian and the fact that Nicolas was under the age of 12.

"Is she going to win a Mother of the Year Award?" Dekker said. "No, probably not."

But she should not be remanded to the Indiana Department of Correction, he said.

Though Dekker called Williams' actions a "nonviolent crime," Barce referred to the punishments as "torture," and Kepner called them "gross or disgusting."

Before the court could sentence Williams on all five counts, it had to be convinced there was separate evidence to support each count.

Counts 1 and 2 as well as counts 4 and 5 used identical language. In the absence of separate evidence to support each count, the court likely would have entered three convictions: one for counts 1 or 2, one for count 3 and one for counts 4 or 5.

Kepner acknowledged the impossibility of knowing whether the jury of three men and three women used separate facts to find Williams guilty on each count. He added that if the jury used the same facts for multiple counts, that would raise the question of double jeopardy.

"I have no way of knowing," he said. "It's kind of a quandary."

He ultimately gave the jury the benefit of the doubt and ruled that a conviction be entered on each count.

After the convictions were entered, Williams told the court she took Nicolas into her home so that he could be with family and noted that she provided him with clothes and took him to church. Williams said she has no knowledge of how Nicolas died.

"This has really put a big strain on me, as everybody else," she said. "I think I did the best thing for us. I don't know who did this to him and took him from the love and care that we provided for him."

Though the court has not yet found Williams to be indigent, Kepner appointed Lafayette attorney Mike Troemel to represent her at appeal.

Kepner remanded Williams to the custody of the Benton County sheriff for the execution of her sentence.

"Nobody's a winner," Christine Doyle, a sixth-grade teacher at Oxford Elementary School, said after attending the sentencing hearing. Nicolas was enrolled in her class in fall 2002 but went missing before he could attend.

"It's heartbreaking. I just want the public to know that there are a lot of people out there that really did care for Nic in this community."

Doyle gave no credence to Williams' statements during the sentencing hearing, alleging that Williams was dishonest with the school about Nicolas.

"How can you trust her?" Doyle said.

Though she remains suspicious of Williams, Doyle feels justice was served in the neglect case.

"I don't know, with her health, what will happen, but she has to contemplate the crime that she's been convicted of and the loss of Nic and all of his potential because of the abuse. Of course he's gone forever now, but when a child's abused what future do they have?"