Body of child identified as missing boy | News | Berkeley Independent

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Body of child identified as missing boy

Published Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:09 AM

By Jim Tatum
Berkeley Independent

What many have feared is now sad fact: The body of a child found in a concrete-filled trashcan last week is two-year-old Rodricus Fred Williams.

Rodricus had been officially missing since July 13. The body, wrapped in plastic bags, encased in concrete, and left behind a mobile home in Orangeburg County, was found last week and transported to Medical University of South Carolina to be disinterred and examined by forensic investigators.

Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said he received confirmation of the identity of the child the morning of July 14.

The body had been so badly decomposed it had to be identified through DNA testing. He said a cause of death will not be determined until a toxicology report is completed, which could take several weeks.

Forensic investigators determined the child had been dead since on or about June 6.

The child’s father, Roger Anthony Williams, 28, and the father’s girlfriend, Grace Nicole Trotman, both of Summerville, have been charged with homicide by child abuse in the case and have been in custody since July 7.

Investigators believe Rodricus suffered some medical issue on or around June 6 at the Longbourne Drive home, prompting Trotman to call Williams. Williams allegedly directed Trotman not to seek medical attention for the boy, nor did he do so himself when he arrived at the home later.

After Rodricus died, investigators believe Williams wrapped his body in plastic bags, placed it in a trashcan, and filled it up with concrete, then drove to Orangeburg County and dumped the grisly package behind a mobile home, where it sat until investigators found it July 7.

A series of events began rapidly unfolding the evening of July 6 at Battery Park in downtown Charleston. At that time, a woman – later identified as Trotman – had reported to the Charleston Police that she saw Rodricus wandering the battery and he had possibly gone through the rails and fallen over the seawall into the harbor. An intense search for the boy ensued Tuesday night but was called off Wednesday morning when it was found that Rodricus had never been at the Battery.

Rodricus was the son of Williams and Shaneeka Washington, who currently lives in Columbia. The two had made an arrangement for Rodricus to stay with Williams and Trotman – who have two other children together – at their home on Longbourne Drive in Summerville until September.

However, Washington unexpectedly decided to travel from the Columbia area to see Rodricus. She and Williams apparently made arrangements for her to see Rodricus the boy at Battery Park in Charleston.

That, investigators believe, is when they decided to concoct the story about the child getting lost and falling over the seawall.

The investigation continues.

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