Dead boy's grandmother charged with neglect

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Dateline: Benton County, Indiana

By Erin Smith

esmith@journalandcourier.com

Neglect charges have been filed in Benton County against the grandmother of Nicolas Zavala, the 12-year-old Oxford boy who was found dead in April.

Margaret Williams has been charged with six felony counts of neglect of a child in her care, prosecutor Jud Barce said.

Williams had temporary custody of her grandson when he was reported missing. She was charged in October with neglect for failing to report his disappearance. That charge was dropped in May after Zavala's remains were discovered.

However, during the course of the investigation into Zavala's death, evidence about his home life caused new charges of neglect to be filed against Williams, Barce said, declining further comment when reached at his home Tuesday night.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Shana Kennedy said an arrest warrant has not been issued for Williams. Kennedy declined further comment.

Williams contacted her attorney, Brian Dekker, about two weeks ago with a copy of the charges. Since that time, Dekker has not spoken to her. Williams is currently at St. Elizabeth Medical Center undergoing treatment for lung cancer, he said.

Neither Williams nor her family could be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Barce said Williams is scheduled to make an initial appearance in early August.

Zavala was living at 303 W. Vine St., Oxford, with his grandmother and uncle, Miguel Campos, at the time of his disappearance. Williams and Campos have since moved to Tippecanoe County.

Zavala, 11 years old when he was reported missing, was dropped off at the Oxford Public Library on Aug. 4 to go on a camping trip with friends, Williams told police. He was expected to return a week later, and Williams reported him missing Aug. 13.

A search warrant was obtained for Williams' home in October, and blood belonging to Zavala was found on the carpet.

In April, Zavala's remains were found in a field in Iroquois County, Ill. The remains are being examined by a forensic anthropologist, Dr. Stephen Nawrocki, a professor at the University of Indianapolis.

Iroquois County Undersheriff Derek Hagen said he didn't know if a cause of death had been determined.

"We're still waiting to hear the results from Dr. Nawrocki," Hagen said Tuesday night. "That will determine the focus of our investigation."

In April, he said the Zavala investigation would be treated as a general death investigation, not a murder.

The Iroquois County Sheriff's Department, the Indiana State Police and the Benton County Sheriff's Department have conducted several interviews and gathered evidence for the investigation, Hagen said.