Officials: Father let boy die

MONCKS CORNER -- When Roger Anthony Williams learned his 2-year-old son was in medical distress, he refused to get the boy help and forbid his girlfriend from contacting a doctor, authorities said Thursday.

Rodricus Williams died as a result, investigators said.

Roger Williams and girlfriend Grace Nichole Trotman then wrapped his son's lifeless body in garbage bags and stuffed him into a plastic trash can, which they filled with 400 pounds of cement, Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt said.

The pair dumped the waste can behind an abandoned mobile home in Orangeburg Countyand concocted a tale about the boy falling into Charleston Harbor on Tuesday while strolling along The Battery seawall, DeWitt said. The fabricated fall occurred as the boy's mother was heading to town to see him, he said.

Police conducted a massive, 12-hour search for the child before learning the truth about Rodricus' disappearance, authorities said. Investigators have been vague as to when the boy died, but arrest affidavits indicate it occurred about a month ago.

Detectives and pathologists removed the badly decomposed body from the concrete Thursday morning. DeWitt said the boy in the concrete matched Rodricus' description, but DNA tests must be conducted before they can definitely identify the body. That could take a week or longer, he said.

Later in the day, deputies charged Williams, 29, and Trotman, 24, with homicide by child abuse. Chief Magistrate Ava Bryant Ayers denied bail for the pair. Trotman also faces an obstruction of justice charge in Charleston County for allegedly impeding the investigation into Rodricus' death. Her bail is set at $250,000 on that count.

The boy's mother, Shaneka Washington, rocked back and forth, sobbing, as her former boyfriend was led into a Berkeley County courtroom Thursday in shackles. A relative cradled her head and held her close as Rodricus' tearful grandmother, Collete Washington, look skyward and muttered over and over, "Jesus, Jesus, oh Lord Jesus."

Neither Williams nor Trotman looked at the family during the bail hearing. They said nothing but simple "yes" or "no" replies to the judge's questions.

Washington and Williams shared custody of Rodricus, and the boy had been staying over the summer with his father and Trotman in a house on Longbourne Way in Summerville, authorities said. Williams and Trotman reportedly fabricated the story about The Battery fall after Washington unexpectedly called from Columbia wanting to see her son.

Arrests affidavits indicate Rodricus died "from injuries and/or physical distress" around June 6 while he was in Trotman's care at her Summerville home. Williams was away from home when Trotman contacted him about "an ongoing medical issue with the child." He ordered her not to seek medical help for his son and, upon returning home, he refused to take action himself to save the boy, affidavits stated.

Statements from the suspects, particularly Trotman, whom DeWitt described as "very cooperative," led authorities to the Orangeburg County trailer Wednesday. The garbage can was so heavy, investigators had to enlist the aid of a local farmer to hoist it into a truck with a backhoe.

DeWitt said they have yet to determine just how the child died, but statements from Trotman indicated Rodricus had been beaten in the past.

"During interviews, there was some talk about the child being struck on occasions," DeWitt said. "Our interpretation was, it was not by accident."

Investigators ran Rodricus' name through Medical University Hospital's database and learned he had been treated there on numerous occasions. DeWitt said they're working on a search warrant to determine the reasons for the visits and give them access to his complete medical history.

Trotman, a mother of two who works part time at a fiberglass plant, has continued to cooperate with investigators. The boy's father asked for an attorney after answering a few questions with what appeared to be false answers, DeWitt said.

DeWitt said Trotman's two small children are living with family members.

Trotman's neighbors on Longbourne Way were shocked and saddened to learn Rodricus is believed to have died on their street. Trotman had largely kept to herself since she began renting the tidy brick and vinyl-sided home about six months ago, neighbors said. They saw little of Williams but recalled Rodricus playing around the home on occasion.

"It's a crying shame," said Norm Reece, who lives across the street. "There is no need to kill a 2-year-old child. No need whatsoever."