In an emotional and often-tense Wednesday morning of testimony, an Omaha man accused in the death of a 1-year-old girl who was left in a hot day care van for more than five hours took the stand in his own defense.
Ryan Williams, 62, testified for about three hours. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of negligent child abuse resulting in death in the August 2023 death of 18-month-old ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó Worthington at Kidz of the Future II day care near 50th and Leavenworth Streets.
Both the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments in the afternoon before the case was submitted to Douglas County District Court Judge Peter Bataillon for consideration. Williams opted for a bench trial, meaning there is no jury and Bataillon will be responsible for determining his innocence or guilt.
The verdict is expected at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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At the heart of the case is whether Williams’ actions constitute criminal negligence, which means Williams “should have known of the danger involved and acted recklessly ... with respect to the safety or health of the minor child.†Recklessness, in this case, “a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law-abiding person†would find appropriate.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Kati Kilcoin for Douglas County asked Williams if he thought he acted negligently.
“No,†Williams replied.
“You don’t believe you did anything wrong on that day?†Kilcoin asked.
“I believe I made a mistake,†Williams said.
Williams recounts the day of ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó’s death
Williams said he first became connected with Kidz of the Future II because his youngest son attended the day care for two or three years. In May 2023, he asked co-owner Keesha Wesson if she needed any help, and she offered him an application. The next week, he said, he started working as the van driver.
According to Williams, he provided Wesson with a CPR certificate and background check before beginning his employment, but he was never asked for a copy of his driver’s license.
Every day would follow a similar routine, Williams said. He would arrive at the day care around 7:30 a.m. and begin the route shortly before 8 a.m. He would pick up 10 children most days before returning to the day care at about 9 a.m. After unloading the children, Williams would head to the Munroe-Meyer Institute, where his son attended all-day programming.
On Aug. 21, 2023, the day care’s usual 15-seat van was swapped out for a 10-seat van due to air conditioning issues. That meant some of the children sat in different seats than Williams was used to, he said.
¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó and her two siblings, a sister and a brother, were picked up and buckled into car seats in the third row of the four-row van. According to Williams, by the time they arrived at the daycare, ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó’s brother had already unbuckled himself and his sisters from their car seats.
Video footage showed Williams unloading the children from the van, occasionally distracted by a 4-year-old who was refusing to exit the vehicle. He went inside to tell the day care staff about the boy’s behavior issues before returning to the van, opening the driver’s side door and grabbing a pair of glasses he left behind.
Unbeknownst to Williams, ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó was still in the van. Had she still been in her car seat, he said, he would have seen her when he went to grab his glasses.
Williams returned to the day care at about 2:30 p.m., and at 2:45 p.m., he went outside to get the car ready for afternoon drop-off. It was a hot August day with the heat index climbing above 110 degrees. Williams moved the van closer to the door and then entered the van to ensure all of the air vents were working properly.
Security video shows Williams disappear into the van for about 10 seconds before a deep, pained scream can be heard from inside the van. Williams said he found ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó’s body facedown on the floor in the fourth row of the van. He ran her inside, where day care staff began CPR. She was declared dead at the hospital shortly before 4 p.m.
As they waited for paramedics to arrive, Williams said, Wesson called Williams into her office and told him he was fired. Only then did Wesson ask to make a copy of his driver’s license, Williams said.
Defense says day care was negligent
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys referred to ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó’s death as a “systematic failure,†but disagreed on how much blame should be placed on the day care.
Throughout the three-day trial, the defense called multiple former employees to testify to the lack of training and guidelines at the day care center. One former employee said in a deposition that she asked about ¸é²¹â€ºá¾±²â²¹³ó’s whereabouts three separate times on the morning of her death, but her concerns were brushed off by two other employees.
Williams said during his testimony Wednesday he was not responsible for “checking in†the kids after they got off the bus or taking attendance — his sole responsibility was to drive. And though Williams said he would usually double-check the vehicle to make sure no kids remained inside, there was no protocol to ensure he did so.
In closing arguments, defense attorney Andrea McChesney asked Bataillon to find Williams’ actions were a terrible mistake, not a criminal act.
“I guess the question is, does the conduct of Williams rise to the legal definition of negligence?†McChesney asked. “The facts don’t show that it does.â€