SC toddler found encased in concrete in trash bin; man, his girlfriend charged in death

SC boy’s remains buried in concrete in trash bin

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. — A man and his girlfriend were charged Thursday in the death of a South Carolina toddler whose remains were found buried in 400 pounds of concrete in a trash can, two days after police said the couple concocted a story about the boy falling into a harbor near a popular tourist destination.

Roger Williams, 29, and Grace Nichole Trotman, 24, were charged with homicide by child abuse. An autopsy revealed the concrete held the body of a young black boy who matched the description the couple had given Charleston police for Williams’ missing son, Rodricus Williams, said Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt.

Rodricus had been staying with his father and Trotman when his mother unexpectedly called wanting to see her son, police said. Rodricus’ mother was told she could pick him up Tuesday at the Battery in Charleston, a tourist area and Civil War site on the city’s peninsula about 20 miles from where police believe the boy was killed.

The couple claimed the boy had fallen from the Battery into Charleston Harbor, touching off a more than 10-hour search by police and rescue workers on foot, and by boat and helicopter. “It was a concocted story,” DeWitt said.

Trotman has been charged by Charleston police with filing a false report and her bond was set at $250,000. Another judge denied bond for both on the more serious charges later Thursday.

Investigators were awaiting the results of a DNA test to confirm that the boy found in the bin was Rodricus. Police think he was killed at Trotman’s Summerville home, but his death was revealed only after Rodricus’ mother wanted to visit him.

Police do not know exactly how long the boy had been dead. “We do know days, maybe longer,” DeWitt said.

Interviews with Trotman and Williams led police to the trash bin just off Interstate 26 in Orangeburg County in central South Carolina, some 55 miles northwest of Charleston. The trash bin was behind an abandoned mobile home in a rural area surrounded by small homes and cornfields.

Because of the weight of the container, a farmer was asked to hoist it onto a county vehicle using a backhoe. The bin was disassembled and the remains examined Thursday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

DeWitt said the boy’s body was inside 32-gallon trashbags and the concrete was poured on top. He said investigators think the boy was dead before he was put in the bin.

Investigators did not know whether Trotman or Williams had a connection to the area where the body was found, DeWitt said.

Rodricus had been admitted to a Charleston hospital several times, and DeWitt said he had been beaten before.

“During interviews, there was some talk about the child being struck on occasions,” DeWitt said. “Our interpretation is, it was not by accident.”

Police said Williams demanded earlier this week that his girlfriend not seek treatment for the toddler when she called and told him he needed medical attention.

Officers were serving the hospital with search warrants to get information on the boy’s treatment. His cause of death has not been released.

Trotman has been cooperating with police while Williams has given investigators false information, DeWitt said.

Officials did not immediately know whether the two had attorneys, though Williams had stopped speaking with police and asked for a lawyer, DeWitt said at a news conference.

“She is still being cooperative,” DeWitt said. “Mr. Williams has refused to answer any questions.”

In Trotman’s neighborhood, residents were shocked.

“It just can’t be understood,” said Norm Reece, whose home is across the street from Trotman’s. “A 2-year-old, innocent child — if you don’t want them, give them to social services. Don’t kill them.”