It began with all the hopes and dreams a mother has for her daughter's future. It has turned into a nightmarish legal battle to simply give her child a decent burial. It's been 12 days since 5-year-old Talia Williams was beaten to death, her Hawaiian-based U.S. Army father admitting to military authorities he was attempting to discipline the child for wetting herself. The child's mother, Tarshia Williams, waits. And weeps. She says her only goal at this time is to give the child she calls "the light" of her life a decent burial. But a military attorney has filed a motion to keep Talia's body in Hawaii.

"I want my baby home so I can lay her to rest at home, so she can be at peace," Williams said. "I am making this statement not only for Talia, but to help any other child and parent so they will not have to experience my pain and to prevent this from happening again."

It was July 16, at about 5:45 p.m. Emergency personnel received a 911 call from a resident at an apartment complex at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii. The victim: a 5-year-old female. Possible cardiac arrest.

Within minutes, Honolulu EMS and a contingent of federal firefighters arrived at 195 Ohaiala Court. They found the child was unresponsive, no pulse. The emergency personnel were able to briefly revive the child. But the child again went into arrest. No pulse.

She was then transported to Wahiawa General Hospital. Upon arrival, Talia was pronounced dead.

When the EMS workers filed their report, they noted that "Talia was vomiting, possible as a result of a head injury." They also "discovered bruises on Talia's arms, chest, knees, and thighs as well as a small laceration on her back," an affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office states.

The child's father, Naeem Williams, 25, is currently in what the military calls "pretrial confinement" in connection with his daughter's death.

Williams' wife and Talia's stepmother, 21-year-old Delilah Williams, is being held without bail. She is charged with murder. Her case will be handled separately from her husband's case, in a civilian court.

Tarshia Williams said it was about eight years ago when she met Naeem Williams, with whom she would later share a child — Talia. The relationship seemed normal, Tarshia said. There was nothing to indicate the horror that was to come.

"No, not as far as hitting," Tarshia said. "He had a little attitude when I would go and see him and stuff."

But that changed in 1999 "when I became pregnant," Tarshia said. Naeem ended the relationship with Tarshia at that point, she said.

"I had felt bad" about the break-up, she said. "But I was like, 'Life goes on.'"

Even without Naeem, Tarshia had something to look forward to. With Talia's birth on March 20, 2000, Tarshia said she was "thrilled and ready to enjoy life." Despite Talia's low birth weight, Tarshia wanted her daughter to experience life to its fullest.

"I wanted to take her to the park, go riding, to the park and (do) what mothers and daughters do," she said. "Basically, what a mother would do with the first-born daughter she had."

Games of "peek-a-boo" and "pattycake" were favorites between the two, she said.

On Talia's birthday last year, Tarshia video recorded the event after picking up ice cream and cake for the celebration. Talia's last birthday in Orangeburg was spent sharing toys with friends, opening birthday presents with her mom's help and "looking forward to eating that ice cream," Tarshia said.

"She liked them all," Tarshia said of Talia's favorite flavor.

The problems

However, Tarshia admits there were problems. Accusations flew from Naeem's family, she said, as did accusations from her own family. She readily admits that after Naeem, she began a relationship with an Orangeburg woman, which may have fanned the flames.

"During the time Talia was with me, I lived an alternative lifestyle and it was said I did not feed my baby properly," Tarshia said. "It all started about my relationship. My family said I couldn't raise her in a gay relationship. That's when it all came about."

Those accusations of malnutrition culminated in a Dec. 4, 2004, family court hearing in which custody of Talia would go to her father, Naeem. A month later, Talia was on her way to Hawaii with her father and stepmother, Delilah.

"I was mad, I was angry, I didn't understand," Tarshia said. "I didn't know then that she would be going over (to Hawaii) with them. I was terrified."

Per the court order, Tarshia was granted two 15-minute phone conversations with her daughter per week. But Tarshia said those calls were sometimes fruitless as Delilah wouldn't allow the her to speak to her daughter.

Phone records from Tarshia's cell phone show she called her daughter 21 times on April 7. She didn't speak to her once because no one answered. She said that was typical. Her frustration built. The last time she spoke to Talia was in March.

"My daughter constantly pleaded and begged for me to get her out of the situation," Tarshia said. "She told me she was being beaten. I didn't have the money to fly to Hawaii and remove her."

Unable to go to her daughter, Tarshia notified Wheeler Elementary School and military officials. She said the military turned a deaf ear to her pleas and school officials "were told they (Naeem and Delilah) were gone back to the mainland," Tarshia said.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported on Wednesday that Naeem Williams was arrested in February after school officials found bruises on the child's arm, according to an attorney for the child's stepmother.

A military doctor examined Talia for six hours but told MPs there was no sign of child abuse. She was returned to Naeem.

Frustration

Meanwhile, July 1 came and went. That was the date, per the court order, that Tarshia was allowed to have visitation with Talia in South Carolina, she said. Tarshia called to make arrangements. Delilah answered.

"Guess what? I could be (expletive) lying," a woman said in a telephone recording. Tarshia said the woman was Delilah. "She (Talia) could be in South Carolina right now. But you know what? You will never find her because she will never see you."

As it turned out, the woman's words were prophetic. Talia would never see her mother again.

On Sunday, July 17, Tarshia received a phone call from a relative of Naeem.

"And she was like, 'I hate to tell you this, but Talia passed,'" Tarshia said. "I fell on the ground and said over and over, 'They killed her, they killed my baby.'"

In addition to emergency personnel, military police were called to 195 Ohaiala Court the day before that phone call.

In a confession to authorities taken on July 17, Naeem Williams admitted to beating his daughter shortly before her death. While being questioned, Williams told investigators he used his hand to hit his daughter "almost every day."

"How many times have you used the belt on Talia?" an unidentified investigator asked.

"Probably every day," Naeem Williams said.

"How many times has blood splattered on the wall from you hitting Talia with a belt?"

"Not all of the time. That only happened when, that, that blood has been on the wall for a while. That is only occurring when she falls on the ground."

As of Wednesday, Naeem Williams has not been officially charged with a crime.

Back to S.C.?

Regardless, Tarshia Williams said she simply wants her daughter's body brought back to South Carolina.

"In her short life, Talia had love taken from her; she had no voice, she had no protection," Tarshia said. "She saw hate every day from the time she was taken away from me to the time she stepped on Hawaiian soil to the day she had the last breath beaten out of her."

But Talia's struggle continues even in death. Requests for her body have met a tapestry of red tape.

The collective city and county municipality of Honolulu informed Tarshia's attorney, Glenn Walters, in a letter on Tuesday that his request for Talia's body through the South Carolina Probate Court is subject to review and approval by Hawaiian authorities.

However, the medical examiner's office, through the city of Honolulu, washed its hands of the matter when U.S. Army Maj. John Hyatt, Naeem Williams' defense attorney, filed a motion in "objection to the release of the remains of Talia Williams in order to conduct additional testing," Tuesday's city of Honolulu letter states.

"At this time, the City (Honolulu) will defer to you (Walters) and Major Hyatt as to the further proceedings on this case," the letter continues. "The City will comply with any valid Hawaii court order that pertains to the custody and release of the remains."

Tarshia said it added insult to injury when Hyatt called her recently stating he would not release Talia's body to her.

Upset at what he sees as a travesty of ethics and the law, Walters is seeking assistance from S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, U.S. Sens. Lindsay Graham and Jim DeMint, and Congressmen James Clyburn and Joe Wilson.

"In my 15 years, I have never picked up the phone and called the victim and discussed the case," Walters said. "The U.S. Army and a lying government must be held responsible for the failure to act after they were given notice of the abuse of this child."

As of late Wednesday, those South Carolina officials the Orangeburg attorney had contacted were signing on to join the fight, Walters said.

Meanwhile, a mother says she just wants to give her child a decent burial.

"No matter how bad my day was or how people felt about me as a gay American," Tarshia said, "there were two words that always made a difference when I walked into the house — 'Hi, Mommy!'"

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