Idaho man pleads guilty to murder in 2-year-old’s death. He’ll be sentenced in December
An Ada County man charged with killing a 2-year-old child in February has pleaded guilty in the case.
Aaron Williams, a Garden City resident, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder, according to online court records. Williams has been in the custody of the Ada County Jail since his arrest in February.
On Feb. 22, police from Garden City and Boise were dispatched to a local clinic after hearing reports of a 2-year-old child with “significant injuries,” according to a Garden City police news release.
The same day, the boy was sent to the emergency room at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise, where he died that day. Four days later, the Ada County Coroner’s Office identified the child as Oliver Ashland, of Boise.
The child’s injuries occurred while in Williams’ care and took place in a Garden City home. Police later served a search warrant on the home, which is located in the 200 block of East 44th Street. Police said Williams was engaged to the child’s mother, and he was watching the 2-year-old when the injuries occurred.
Williams’ case was bound over to District Court in September after a preliminary hearing. He pleaded guilty during a hearing on Tuesday.
Williams faces a potential sentence of life in prison on the first-degree murder charge. Court records do not show that Ada County prosecutors filed their intent to seek the death penalty, which is also a possibility for first-degree murder charges.
His next court appearance will be for his sentencing, which is set to take place in person on Dec. 6.
Williams’ case is one of the handful in the county that must take place in person. An order issued Wednesday from the Idaho Supreme Court allows for sentencing hearings to take place remotely now, but before that order, all sentencing hearings for felony cases had to be held in person.
