Mother's Boyfriend Kills Toddler Over Soiled Diaper

(I am betting there is a whole lot that is not being reported on this one.)

Detective: Federal Way man killed child for soiling diaper. Purpose Goldsmith, 2, died of severe head injuries, wounds to body

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

A King County District Court judge has found probable cause to hold a Federal Way man accused in the death of a 2-year-old girl.

Sheriff's detectives arrested the 28-year-old man on Monday, a day after the girl -- Purpose Goldsmith, his girlfriend's daughter -- died of head injuries allegedly sustained while in his care. The man -- who'd previously been convicted in an attack on his own child -- has not been charged in the slaying but is suspected of second-degree murder in Goldsmith's death.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, deputies were called to a home in the 36200 block of 21st Place South after a caller reported that the girl was not breathing, King County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said in a statement.

Deputies arrived at the home, located in unincorporated King County east of Federal Way, and found Goldsmith gravely injured. She died en route to Harborview Medical Center.

"(The suspect) first stated he found Purpose unresponsive when he went to wake her and change her diaper," a sheriff's detective told the court.

The suspect later admitted to hitting the girl six or seven times with a belt after she soiled her diaper, the detective continued. He is alleged to have admitted to shaking her until she went limp, slapping her in the head; the detective added that the 2-year-old's head "felt like Jello" due to the injuries.

The girl's mother was at work, and the suspect, who is her live-in boyfriend, was taking care of the girl and her 4-year-old brother, Urquhart said previously. Investigators believe the boyfriend, who has since been arrested, called 911 after the girl stopped breathing.

Court records show the 28-year-old was sentenced to 9 months in jail in 2005 after assaulting his young daughter.

In that incident, the man's then 2-month-old daughter sustained seven broken ribs after he pushed down on her chest in an effort to stop her from crying. Writing the court, his attorney described the man as "quite shaken" after learning the harm he'd done to his daughter and pledged to "do what he needed to obtain help so this wouldn't be repeated."

He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault of a child, and was sentenced to the high end of the standard sentencing range.

The man remains jailed at King County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday; prosecutors have until Monday to file charges.