A Georgia man was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 9-week-old baby. He had told police the injuries happened from throwing the baby in the air and catching it.
Khaliq Woods, 29, was convicted of two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated battery, and one count of first-degree cruelty to children for the November 2019 death of baby Kamila Woods. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
"We grieve with the family of the deceased child Kamila Woods," Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. "This is a tragedy that an infant's life was taken. We pray that the outcome of this trial will help Kamila's family heal."
Woods, then 23, brought Kamila to Northside Duluth Medical Center the morning of Nov. 30, 2019, a day after her mother dropped her off at Wood's apartment. The baby was dead on arrival at the hospital.
According to prosecutors, "Woods told police that he had been playing with the infant that evening, tossing her in the air and catching her. He said on one of those catches, he felt the infant's side go in, and he heard wheezing."
Woods told authorities he put her to bed around 10 p.m., that evening, and went back to check on her around 2 a.m. He then noticed the baby had not moved and would not take a bottle or pacifier. At about 6 a.m. he ordered a rideshare and went to the hospital, prosecutors said.
Police conducted a search warrant after the baby died and discovered that at 2 a.m. Woods had searched "symptoms of broken ribs in children" nine times.
"The autopsy conducted on Kamila showed that she had suffered multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver, and bleeding and swelling of the brain. Evidence introduced at trial showed that Kamila's injuries were consistent with being violently squeezed and shaken," prosecutors wrote in a statement.
