Wilbur Fields, Richland County, South Carolina dad sentenced to 50 years jail for the scalding hot water death of 4 year old daughter, Hope Fields, who he’d punished for soiling herself. Child’s mother, Fifi Hill-Fields also indicted for failing to stop her husband.
A South Carolina man who coped to a plea deal in the death of his 4 year old daughter after dunking the girl in scalding hot water as punishment after a bathroom accident was on Monday sentenced to 50 years jail
Wilbur Fields, 34, of Richland County had pleaded guilty to the abuse and death of his 4-year-old daughter leading into his sentencing.
On February 15, 2024, Fields, 34, punished his daughter, Hope Fields for soiling her pants by submerging her in scalding water and causing her immediate first degree burns, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Parents withheld medical attention for a day
Following the incident, Fields withheld medical care for approximately 24 hours, during which Hope remained unresponsive. The girl’s parents relented, taking the girl to hospital the next day where she was observed suffering from severe burns covering nearly half of her body along with broken bones along with suffering a cardiac arrest on the way to hospital.
Medical tests confirmed she had no brain activity due to the extent of her injuries, which ultimately led to her death, WLTX reported.
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said Hope died Feb. 18, 2024, two days after the child was initially brought to a hospital.
Hope’s siblings, both younger and older, witnessed the incident, according to the release. The other children, who were placed in protective custody, recounted what they saw and heard from their father and sister “as she was enduring the abuse, the State reported.
The child’s mother, Fifi Hill-Fields, 32, was also charged in connection to the child’s death. The parent is alleged to have ‘stood by and watched’ as the child was placed in the scalding water and failing to come to her daughter’s assistance.
The parent’s case is still pending.
