PURPOSE GOLDSMITH - 2 yo (2010) - Federal Way WA

Detective: Federal Way man killed child for soiling diaper

Purpose Goldsmith, 2, died of severe head injuries, wounds to body


By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFFA King County District Court judge has found probable cause to hold a Federal Way man accused in the death of a 2-year-old girl. Sheriff's detectives arrested the 28-year-old man on Monday, a day after the girl -- Purpose Goldsmith, his girlfriend's daughter -- died of head injuries allegedly sustained while in his care. The man -- who'd previously been convicted in an attack on his own child -- has not been charged in the slaying but is suspected of second-degree murder in Goldsmith's death.At 1 p.m. Sunday, deputies were called to a home in the 36200 block of 21st Place South after a caller reported that the girl was not breathing, King County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said in a statement. Deputies arrived at the home, located in unincorporated King County east of Federal Way, and found Goldsmith gravely injured. She died en route to Harborview Medical Center. "(The suspect) first stated he found Purpose unresponsive when he went to wake her and change her diaper," a sheriff's detective told the court. The suspect later admitted to hitting the girl six or seven times with a belt after she soiled her diaper, the detective continued. He is alleged to have admitted to shaking her until she went limp, slapping her in the head; the detective added that the 2-year-old's head "felt like Jello" due to the injuries.The girl's mother was at work, and the suspect, who is her live-in boyfriend, was taking care of the girl and her 4-year-old brother, Urquhart said previously. Investigators believe the boyfriend, who has since been arrested, called 911 after the girl stopped breathing.Court records show the 28-year-old was sentenced to 9 months in jail in 2005 after assaulting his young daughter. In that incident, the man's then 2-month-old daughter sustained seven broken ribs after he pushed down on her chest in an effort to stop her from crying. Writing the court, his attorney described the man as "quite shaken" after learning the harm he'd done to his daughter and pledged to "do what he needed to obtain help so this wouldn't be repeated."He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault of a child, and was sentenced to the high end of the standard sentencing range.The man remains jailed at King County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday; prosecutors have until Monday to file charges.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/430707_child24.html?source=mypi

Fed Way man charged in beating death of toddler over soiled diaper





Nov 29, 2010SEATTLE – Prosecutors have charged the man accused of beating a girl to death over a soiled diaper.

Ron Wallace Jr. has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Purpose Goldsmith. The toddler was rushed to a hospital on Nov. 21 after becoming unresponsive while in her mother's boyfriend's care.

Wallace, 28, of Federal Way called medics to his home in the 36200 block of 21st Place S. just before 1 p.m. He initially told investigators he'd found the girl unresponsive when he went to wake her and change her diaper, according to the statement of probable cause. The girl's mother, who'd been dating Wallace for about three months, was at work at the time.

The girl was taken to Harborview Medical Center with head trauma and multiple wounds and bruises, including belt marks on her buttocks, stomach and face. She later died at the hospital, and an autopsy revealed she'd died of homicidal violence in the form of blunt force trauma to the head.

When questioned by detectives, Wallace admitted he'd become "stressed and frustrated with Purpose because she soiled her diaper," the statement said. As punishment, he hit her six or times with a belt, he told investigators, first hitting her on the buttocks then on the lower part of her body as she tried to get away.

Wallace added he also "shook her many times and she went limp" and "slapped her with an open hand many times on the side of the head," investigators said. He denied having hit her in the head, however, and suggested the head injuries might have occurred when the girl staggered into the bedroom door.

According to prosecutors, Wallace's criminal record includes a conviction for second-degree assault. The 2005 conviction stems from Wallace's admission to having gotten frustrated with his own 8-week-old daughter and squeezing her hard enough to break several ribs. He was sentenced to nine months in jail.

Prior convictions also include refusal to cooperate, fourth-degree assault and telephone calls to harassment.

Wallace is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 8.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/111011689.html