On Aug. 3, 2026, Dioblis Williams, 26, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children in connection with the March 25, 2020, death of 2-year-old Jamir Jones.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Kim Brown sentenced Williams to 13-18½ years in prison.
This story initially published on Aug. 20, 2025.
Columbus man charged with murder in 2020 beating death of 2-year-old
A Columbus man has been charged in connection with the 2020 beating death of a toddler whose body was found in a bathtub at an apartment on Columbus' Northeast Side.
Columbus police obtained an arrest warrant on Aug. 19 for 25-year-old Dioblis Williams in connection with the March 25, 2020, death of 2-year-old Jamir Jones.
According to a criminal complaint filed by city homicide detectives, Williams was babysitting Jamir for his girlfriend
while she was at work. The complaint states that after Jamir soiled himself, Williams placed him in the bathtub and left him there unsupervised. Minutes later, Jamir was found unresponsive in the bathtub by a woman whom The Dispatch identified as Jamir's stepmom.
The woman called 911 just after 2 p.m. Police arrived and began performing CPR until a medic arrived. Jamir was transported to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:45 p.m., The Dispatch previously reported.
An autopsy revealed that Jamir did not drown in the bathtub and that his body bore evidence of blunt force trauma. The autopsy report noted "acute" hemorrhages and bruises on his stomach, head, and neck, according to the criminal complaint.
Williams was not in custody as of noon, Aug. 21, according to Franklin County jail records.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man sentenced in toddler's 2020 beating death
