An early evening downpour didn?t dampen the spirits of family members and friends who gathered for a candle light vigil to mourn Ja-niya Williams, the 4-year-old girl brutally raped and beaten to death two weeks ago.
Her 15-year-old babysitter, Ronald Hinton, has been charged with first-degree murder and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
“We don?t want this little girl?s life to be in vain,” said the Rev. Willie Ray, head of the Stop the Violence Coalition. “People are cold-hearted, but this little girl was an angel,” he said.
Joining Ray on the steps of Ja-niya?s great-grandmother?s house in East Baltimore was her father, John Williams, and her mother, Joy Eaddy, along with other friends and family.
Ja-niya?s aunt, Barbara Johnson, said the girl was always energetic and happy. “Every time I walked around the corner she would grab me by the leg and smile,” she said.
Eula Huff, Ja-niya?s great-grandmother, said that she was last person to see her great-granddaughter alive and will remember her for her smile. “She was so happy when she left here,” she said.
Huff said that girl was taken by her godmother, who had told the family she would watch the girl while she was on vacation. However, Huff said, the godmother was working, and left Ja-niya in the care of Hinton. “She shouldn?t have left her with that boy,” Huff said. “She should have brought my granddaughter back.”
Huff said the vigil, which was organized by Ray, will help people to heal. “Some people say they want to kill the boy, but that won?t bring my granddaughter back,” she said.
Ray, who has been speaking out against violence for nearly three decades, said he organized the vigil to call attention to the death of a child. “I buried two children in a week,” he said. “This is a wake-up to the community to make sure this does not happen again.”
