Opening arguments begin in trial of bus aide accused in death of 6-year-old girl
The trial is expected to last between a week and 10 days, with Davila facing a potential prison sentence of 5-10 years if convicted.
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Opening arguments began in the trial of a Somerset County school bus aide accused in the death of a 6-year-old girl in her care. Amanda Davila, 27, is charged with aggravated manslaughter for the incident on board a school bus in 2023.
As opening arguments began, assistant prosecutor Mike McLaughlin told jurors that Amanda Davila, “had one job and she didn’t do it. All she had to do for a half hour was watch after this little girl, Fajr Williams…She had one job and she didn’t do it and because she didn’t do it, Fajr Williams is dead.”
Immediately after opening arguments, jurors watched a video that showed the 6-year-old on board that bus in July 2023 as it was driving to the Claremont School in Franklin Township. It showed Davila boarding the bus with Williams - who is in a wheelchair – and appeared alert and happy.
It also showed Davila leaving the child to go sit in the front of the bus. She is seen wearing earbuds and looking at her phone, allegedly breaking the rules of her training, according to the prosecutor.
“There is an empty seat right across the aisle from where the victim's wheelchair was strapped in,” McLaughlin told jurors. “That is where the defendant should have been because that is where she could keep an eye on Fajr.”
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Eventually, the video showed Williams slide down in the chair and the four-point harness around her chest harness slide up around her throat. The little girl was being strangled, according to prosecutors.
Officials say Williams’ suffering and flailing of her arms and legs go unnoticed by Davila and the bus driver until the bus is stopped at the Claremont School and a school nurse boards and attempts CPR unsuccessfully.
“What happened that day was, by far as my practice as a nurse, the most horrific thing I’ve been involved in,” nurse Maribeth Virzi testified.
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The defense says that Davila is not entirely to blame for this death since it was the child’s teenage sister who incorrectly connected the lap belt allowing the girl to slump in her wheelchair.
Defense attorney Michael Policastro told jurors in his opening statement, “Amanda Davila is made out in this case to be the scapegoat…This poor little girl who died of strangulation was not buckled in her wheelchair correctly and that is not the responsibility of Amanda Davila. That is the responsibility of the mother.”
Policastro admitted his client made a mistake by not sitting next to Williams.
"Should she have been sitting next to the young girl? Yes, she should have,” said Policastro. "But the lion's share is on the sister, on the mother.”
Policastro also asked jurors why the bus company, Montauk Transportation, or the child’s mother were not also brought up on charges.
The victim's mother, Najmah Nash did take the stand. Through tears, she identified the wheelchair belonging to her daughter as it was wheeled into the courtroom as an exhibit.
Nash was asked on cross-examination about having her teenage daughter buckle Williams' lap belt.
Policastro was attempting to pass on responsibility by asking, “It is your responsibility to put that four-point harness on your daughter?”
Nash replied, “Yes.”
The prosecution had several witnesses on the first day of the trial, including lead Detective Michael Grosso.
Davila lives in New Brunswick and is a mother to a 2-year-old child with special needs. She is trying to avoid a guilty verdict, which could send her to prison for five to 10 years.
The trial will resume on Wednesday.
