REMEMBERING WILLIAM

William Derrick Yates was only 21 months old. He was still a baby, at an age when the world should have been opening up around him more every day. He should have had years ahead of him to grow, learn, play and become the person he was meant to be. Instead, William's life ended before his second birthday. There is painfully little publicly available information about William's personality, the things that made him laugh or the little things he loved. Much of what remains publicly documented about him focuses on his injuries and the investigation that followed his death. But William was more than what happened to him. He was a little boy. He was a son and a brother. His name was William Derrick Yates, and his life mattered.

WILLIAM'S STORY

Ten days before William died, there was already a serious indication that something was wrong. William was taken to a doctor with a broken collarbone. His mother, Malissa Yates, could not explain how her 21 month old son had suffered the injury. William's medical record also noted that he was “guarding his abdomen,” behavior indicating that the little boy was experiencing pain in that area. Ten days later, on July 31, 2010, a 911 call came from an apartment in Fayetteville. Malissa desperately asked for help for her baby, telling the dispatcher that he was only one year old. William was dead. An autopsy revealed that his death was not natural or accidental.

William had suffered severe blunt force injuries to his head, chest and abdomen. He had bleeding in his brain, a broken rib and injuries to his liver and pancreas.

Even more troubling, the autopsy found evidence that William had been beaten on at least two other recent occasions. The injuries that killed William were not the first injuries he had suffered. William had been hurt before. He was only 21 months old and unable to explain what was happening to him or protect himself from the person hurting him.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES

William's death did not occur without warning. Cumberland County Department of Social Services had already been in contact with Malissa Yates for at least two months before William died. DSS became involved after Malissa filed a domestic violence protective order. That contact presented an opportunity to determine whether William and his four year old brother were safe. A later review of William's case found that social workers failed to gather enough information to determine whether the children were in danger despite the domestic violence allegations and Malissa's criminal history, which included assault, drug and firearms charges. There were medical warning signs as well. Only ten days before William died, a doctor saw him for a broken collarbone that his mother could not explain. His medical record also documented that William was guarding his abdomen. After his death, the autopsy would reveal injuries to that same area of his body as well as evidence that he had been beaten on multiple recent occasions. William was a toddler. He could not explain how his collarbone had been broken. He could not tell a doctor why his abdomen hurt. He could not tell a social worker what was happening inside his home. William needed the adults and systems around him to recognize the signs that he was too young to put into words. They did not recognize them in time.

JUSTICE FOR WILLIAM

Several months after William's death, investigators charged Malissa Yates with first degree murder and felony child abuse. She initially faced the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison. But the case did not end with a murder conviction. Two years later, Malissa accepted a plea agreement. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felony intentional child abuse. Despite the severity of William's injuries and evidence that he had been beaten repeatedly before his death, Malissa ultimately served two years and three months in prison. William's case was later included in a Fayetteville Observer investigation examining child deaths in North Carolina. The newspaper reviewed 120 deaths involving families that had contact with county social services during the year before the child died. Of those cases, 31 deaths were ruled homicides or other unlawful killings. Only three resulted in life sentences for the parent or caregiver. Other cases resulted in shorter sentences or no prison time. The investigation also identified failures within the child welfare system, including instances in which social workers, medical professionals, law enforcement and others missed signs of abuse or neglect.  William's case became one heartbreaking example of how warning signs can be missed before a child's death and how justice after a child dies from abuse can look very different from what many expect.

Malissa Yates
Relationship to William: Mother

Convictions: Involuntary manslaughter and felony intentional child abuse

Sentence: Served 2 years and 3 months in prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

William Derrick Yates was only 21 months old. Ten days before he died, William sat in a doctor's office with a broken collarbone that no one could explain. He was experiencing pain in his abdomen. He was far too young to explain what had happened to him. William needed the adults around him to ask the questions he could not answer and recognize the signs he could not explain. After his death, his injuries told a story that William had never been old enough to tell himself. He had been hurt before. But William's injuries are not what should define his memory. Before there was an autopsy, an investigation, criminal charges or a court case, there was a little boy. There should have been a second birthday. There should have been childhood photographs, school days, friendships, favorite foods, favorite toys and years of ordinary memories. William should have been given enough time to show the world exactly who he was. He deserved to grow up in a home where he was protected. He deserved adults who recognized when he was hurting. And he deserved far more than 21 months of life. Abuse Angels remembers William Derrick Yates a little boy who was too young to tell anyone what was happening to him and who deserved to be heard even without the words to say it. We remember William. We speak his name. And William Yates will not be forgotten.