Zaki Davis (Mecklenburg County Jail).
A 26-year-old North Carolina man will spend the rest of his days behind bars after he beat his girlfriend's 7-month-old son to death while she was at work.
Zaki Davis was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Israel Williams last month and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday, a press release from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office said.
Davis was watching Israel, his girlfriend's son, on Dec. 17, 2021, at his home in northwest Charlotte. The defendant fed the boy and texted pictures of him to the girlfriend throughout the night. Davis sent his mother, who was also in the home at the time, a photo of her holding Israel at 9:23 p.m.
After that, Davis took Israel upstairs. Less than half an hour later, Israel was unresponsive. The boy suffered "non-accidental trauma" inflicted by Davis. His death was ruled a homicide. The press release did not say what led Davis to start beating the child.
Cellphone data revealed that Davis searched "baby acting lifeless" and "baby not responding but heart is" before calling 911 just before 10 p.m. Paramedics rushed Israel to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead a short time later. Cops arrested Davis a few days after Israel's death and he has been in the Mecklenburg County Jail ever since.
District Attorney Spencer B. Merriweather III noted that Davis was sentenced on the first day of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
"April is a rife occasion to remind one another about our collective obligation to support and strengthen families, to foster caring communities and to protect all children," Merriweather said in a statement.