Mom accused of stomping girl, 7, to death 'like an ant' for spilling cereal may face ultimate penalty

A mother could possibly face the death penalty for allegedly stomping her 7-year-old daughter to death after the girl spilled her cereal.

Naikishia Williams, 32, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for the April 28 death of her daughter, Nia Williams, in Riviera Beach, a city in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The mother was indicted in June, but prosecutors argued this week that the accusations against her qualify for capital punishment.

According to the prosecution, Williams was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel," and Williams killed her daughter "in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification."

Other factors that could lead to the death penalty are the fact that Nia was under 12 years old when she died, and Williams "stood in a position of familial or custodial authority over the victim."

An eight-page probable cause affidavit detailed not only the circumstances of Nia's death, but also the instability of her life, including how her mother allegedly left her behind at the hospital after giving birth to her.

Nia was placed in foster care for six months before being placed in the case of Rebecca Finely and her daughter, Whytni Walker, who had been caring for Williams' other three children.

For the next few years, Walker and Finley had custody of the children on and off; however, when Williams had custody, Nia would suffer severe injuries, according to the affidavit.

Nia was taken to the hospital in April 2021 for a broken right femur and a laceration to the back of her head.

The girl's mother allegedly never had the staples removed from the back of Nia's head, and her skin began to grow over them.

In September of that year, Nia had a broken arm, said police. In 2022, the girl was treated for "multiple burn marks from boiling water," according to the complaint.

Williams was reunited with her children in 2023 after completing a parenting program, said police. Finey said the mother was a drug addict who would take out her frustrations on the children, with Nia getting the "brunt" of it.

Nia's teachers told investigators that she had missed about 50 days during the 2024-2025 school year. When the child did come to school, she usually had dirty clothes, according to the affidavit.

Despite this, her teachers described her as "brilliant and sweet."

School officials called Williams to share their concerns about Nia, but the mother never answered. Three days before her death, Nia came to school on April 28, appearing "very sick," said police.

The child complained of severe stomach pain, vomited, and said she was "very cold."

Nia was taken to the nurse's office, but couldn't receive treatment because her mother never signed the parental consent form, nor did she answer phone calls to come pick her child up, said police.

Nia's siblings were also interviewed, with one of them telling detectives that the girl had been sick all weekend after coming home from school.

They said her vomit was "black in color," and she couldn't eat because of how bad her stomach was hurting, according to the affidavit.

The other children explained how Nia got in trouble a few days before her death because she didn't clean up her spilled cereal. Williams allegedly became upset and made Nia lie on the ground while she stomped the child on her stomach several times, "like you stomp an ant."