Dioblis Williams pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children in the death of 2-year-old Ja’Mir Jones.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio man has been sentenced to 13 to 18 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2020 death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, bringing a criminal case that remained unresolved for more than five years closer to an end.
Dioblis Williams, 26, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children in the death of Ja’Mir Camren Dasean Jones. Williams had previously faced a murder charge. Local news reports said a Franklin County judge imposed the prison sentence in early August, nearly six and a half years after Ja’Mir died in Columbus.
The case began on March 25, 2020, when Columbus police were called to a home in the 2200 block of Holt Avenue on a report that a child had drowned. According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, officers arrived at about 2:04 p.m. and found Ja’Mir not breathing. Officers began CPR before medics took him to a children’s hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:45 p.m.
Investigators later determined that the child had not died from drowning. Authorities said medical findings showed that Ja’Mir died from blunt force trauma, and his death was classified as a homicide. News reports citing investigative records said Williams had been caring for the toddler while the boy’s mother was away.
According to an affidavit cited by local news organizations, investigators alleged that Williams struck Ja’Mir after the child had an accident in his diaper. Authorities alleged that Williams then placed the boy in a bathtub and reported that he had drowned. The allegations formed part of the homicide investigation that eventually led to criminal charges against Williams.
The case remained publicly unresolved for years. In August 2025, authorities obtained a warrant accusing Williams in connection with Ja’Mir’s death and sought help from the U.S. Marshals Service after investigators learned that he might be in Massachusetts.
Federal authorities arrested Williams in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Aug. 27, 2025. The U.S. Marshals Service said its Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force located him after receiving information from Columbus police and the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team. The agency said the arrest was made within eight days of the homicide warrant being issued.
Williams was initially held in Massachusetts as a fugitive from justice while authorities arranged his return to Ohio. Once back in Columbus, the case proceeded through Franklin County court rather than going to trial on the original murder allegation. His guilty pleas to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children resulted in the sentence of at least 13 years and as many as 18 1/2 years in prison.
Ja’Mir was born May 17, 2017, and was 2 years old when he died. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office had listed his death in its unsolved homicide database while the investigation remained open. The recent guilty plea and prison sentence mark the most significant court resolution in the case since Williams was arrested in 2025.
Williams is expected to remain in Ohio state custody while serving the sentence imposed in Franklin County. Publicly available reports did not indicate any additional pending defendants or further major court proceedings tied to Ja’Mir’s death.
Author note: Last updated August 11, 2026.