COLUMBIA, S.C. — A woman will spend the next 40 years of her life in prison following a jury's finding that the choking of her own already injured child led to his suffering and eventual death 3 years later.
According to a statement from the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office, a Richland County jury found Shakoya Darby guilty of homicide by child abuse for her role in the death of 18-month-old Princeton Adams.
"This was the worst case of child abuse and neglect that I had ever seen, and I am grateful that we were able to get justice for Princeton,” said former Richland County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ryan Galinski in a statement from the solicitor's office.
Now a captain with the Chapin Police Department, Galinski investigated the case when it first began in 2018.
The violence unfolded on Christmas day of that year after which emergency services were called and found a neighbor already attempting to save the child's life. Emergency Medical Services quickly took over life-saving efforts which were partially successful, as they were able to bring back Adams' heartbeat.
However, extensive brain damage meant the small boy was placed on a ventilator and didn't ever regain brain function at any point up until his death 3 years later, prosecutors said.
Other injuries included a broken leg and broken wrist which Darby claimed in at least one statement were the result of him being struck by her boyfriend. She said in this case that she failed to call for medical treatment for more than four hours.
But the solicitor's office said Darby later admitted to also abusing the child, specifically choking him by placing her hands on his neck for 2 minutes.
An autopsy later found that Adams died as a result of the incident and had suffered brain damage due to a lack of blood and oxygen reaching his brain during the incident. Other experts for the prosecution found that immediately calling for care would have given the baby his greatest chance of recovery.
Darby's conviction came after 8 hours of deliberation and was followed by a judge sentencing her to four decades in prison.