Insets, from left: Aleah Faith Ostruh (WTAE), Seth Williams (Pennsylvania Department of Corrections) and Micaiah Williams (Jobe Funeral Home). Background: The home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Micaiah was beaten to death (WTAE).
A Pennsylvania woman who waited 12 hours to seek medical attention for her infant son after his father caused him to suffer four skull fractures and two broken shoulders is headed to prison.
Aleah Faith Ostruh, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of conspiracy to endanger the welfare of children in the death of 4-month-old Micaiah Williams and the injury of another child. On Monday, a judge sentenced her to between five and 10 years behind bars, court records say.
Micaiah's father, Seth Williams, 30, was sentenced in June to 12½ years to 28 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder.
Pittsburgh police began investigating on Sept. 10, 2024, after the parents brought Micaiah to a hospital with "visible signs of abuse" and several "severe injuries," police said at the time. Police arrested Williams, who was hiding in the basement of their apartment building. Micaiah died four days later.
According to a courtroom report from the Pittsburgh Tribune, Ostruh left her son with Williams while she went to work on Sept. 9, 2024. But Ostruh never should have left Micaiah because she knew Williams was under the influence, Micaiah's grandfather and Williams' father, Ahmed Williams, said.
"Those warnings were ignored," he reportedly wrote in a victim impact statement.
Shortly after 6 p.m., Seth Williams reportedly texted Ostruh "911 ASAP CALL ME!!!."
Ostruh rushed home and found the house a mess; there was apparently a door with holes in it that had been ripped off its hinges and broken glass everywhere. Micaiah reportedly had bruises on his face, would not open his eyes and refused to eat.
Seth Williams' internet search history included more than 20 instances of the phrases "baby head trauma" and "baby head trauma treatment," per the Tribune.
The parents never sought medical treatment until the next morning, when they walked to the hospital.
"Instead of immediately getting him help, she waited," Williams wrote. "I will always believe that every minute mattered. Micaiah depended on his parents to act, and they failed him."
Micaiah suffered four skull fractures and two broken shoulders. Seth Williams claimed his 4-year-old twins accidentally knocked him off of a bassinet, but the boy's injuries were too severe for that explanation.
About a year before Micaiah's death, camera footage showed Ostruh picking up one of her twin boys, who was a toddler at the time, by the neck and stuffing his face in the couch, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
During a presentence interview about a potential prison sentence, Ostruh reportedly refused to accept responsibility.
"I'm not sure I deserve anything because I was at work," she responded, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The judge said Ostruh failed her child.
"Ms. Ostruh ignored, despite knowledge specifically pointed out and visible to her, of Mr. Williams' unstable and drug-influenced position," the judge said, per the Tribune. "This baby suffered unimaginable pain and suffering over the course of multiple hours."
As Ostruh was being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, she reportedly looked at her mother and said, "Mom, please."
"I'm praying," her mother responded.