Ethiopian Girl, Hana Williams, Starved By Parents In Washington State

September 11, 2013 (Hollywood life) — So horrific. Hana Williams was starved and left outside in her Washington state’s home backyard by her adoptive parents, and was found dead in May 2011. Her parents were convicted of manslaughter on Sept. 9, 2013.


Hana Williams, believed to be 13 years old when she died, was found dead in her backyard in May 2011 after suffering hypothermia and extreme starvation and malnutrition. On Sept. 9, 2013, both of Hana’s adoptive parents, Carri and Larry Williams were convicted of first degree manslaughter. Carri was also found guilty of homicide by abuse.

Ethiopian Girl, Hana Williams, Starved By Parents In Washington State

Hana was adopted from Ethiopia in 2008 by the Williams couple.

An autopsy revealed that Hana died of hypothermia that was worsened by “chronic gastritis and malnutrition,” reports The Daily Mail. She was left outside in the backyard and froze in the cold. Her bony body was covered in bruises and bloody gashes when she was found, and her head was shaved bald.

The parents reportedly kept their children isolated from all non-relatives, home-schooled all of the kids and followed the strict religious principles that are described in the Christian parenting book, To Train Up a Child, investigators said.

Adoptive Child Testifies At Hana Williams Trial

Hana’s adoptive brother Immanuel, now 12 years old, and his new foster parents testified at the Williams couple’s trial.  Immanuel was also adopted from Ethiopia by the pair. He testified that they would beat him and Hana with switches and belts.

He also told the court that as punishment, he and Hana “were fed frozen meals, hosed down and forced to sleep in closets, where they would listen to recordings of the Bible on tape and Christian music,” reports The Daily Mail. He explained that the couple would beat him until his face was bloody.

After the Williams couple was arrested, Child Protective Services removed eight other children from their home: Immanuel and seven of the couple’s biological children.