NJ bus monitor facing charges in choking death of 6-year-old to face grand jury
Amanda Davila’s defense counsel says there is “a lot of blame to go around” and that he’s looking forward to his client’s day in court.
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Amanda Davila, the school monitor charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the death of 6-year-old Fajr Williams on a school bus, will face a grand jury for second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment charges.
Davila was in court Friday for a pre-indictment conference where both her lawyer and the prosecution stated that they do not plan to enter into a plea agreement at this time. A judge previously released her on conditions without bail pending trial.
Williams, who was nonverbal, died on the school bus after she slipped and the harness on her wheelchair blocked her airways. Davila is seen in a video in the front of the school bus looking at her phone with headphones on while Williams is strangled by a harness.
Michael Policastro, defense counsel, says there is “a lot of blame to go around” and that he’s looking forward to his client’s day in court.
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“We all know what a tragedy this is. And we all know, no matter what, my client was still an aide on the bus, and you can always assign blame,” Policastro said.
Policastro said he hasn’t received all the evidence yet, but based on the video he has seen, he doesn’t believe his client is responsible for Fajr’s death. He said he would consider a plea deal that drops the manslaughter charges, but he doesn’t expect the prosecution to agree to that.
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Najmah Nash, Fajr’s mother, is working to pass a law in her daughter’s name to hopefully increase security on school buses and prevent tragedies like what happened to her daughter from happening again.
News 12 New Jersey spoke with Nash, who said she is putting her trust in the grand jury.
“I believe that this is the right course to take,” Nash said. “The loss that I’ve endured is unfathomable, and I don’t want anyone else to go through what me and my family is going through.”
Davila doesn’t have a scheduled court appearance as of now. If she is indicted, then the judge will set a trial date.
