Prosecutor Vividly Describes Death of Zorii Pitts in Opening Statements

By Brooke Uzzell [former] - April 15, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

Opening arguments and witness testimony began on April 14 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence R. Daniels for a homicide trial.

Darius Williams, 34, is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a youth under the age of 13, and first-degree child abuse which resulted in severe physical injury in connection to an incident that happened on May 15, 2021 that resulted in the death of Zorii Pitts.

Before swearing jurors in, Judge Daniels listened as Williams’ defense attorney, Paul Polansky, voiced his concerns about the potential interpretation of testimony from a paramedic on the scene of the day of the incident. This paramedic is scheduled to be a witness on behalf of the prosecution, however Polansky felt that the testimony, which contained statements from Williams could affect the way his client is viewed by the jury.

In addition, the testimony is nearly a year old, and just made it into discovery this week, according to Polansky. 

The prosecutor recalls that Williams told the victim’s mother as she cried hysterically following the 2-month-old’s death to “shut the f*ck up, it’s life, it happens…”

Agreeing with Polansky, the statement could be interpreted in different ways and therefore present prejudice against his client. Judge Daniels ruled that the witness cannot include the statements Williams made on the day of the incident in his testimony.

Opening statements from the prosecution revealed that throughout the case, the jury will be gaining insight about the early hours of the day of the incident, even hearing Williams say that he was the last person to have custody of the child, feeding her and placing her in her bassinet before going to bed himself on that day. 

The prosecutor mentioned how unusual it was for the infant to not move throughout the night. The prosecutor also said that paramedics were called in the morning and soon after Zorii was pronounced dead. 

During the trial, the prosecutor told the jury to expect witness testimony from a Baltimore Police Department detective, Baltimore City Fire Department paramedic, medical examiner, and even the mother of the victim. As both parents were interviewed during the investigation, witness testimony will show a difference in conduct between each parent, according to the prosecutor’s opening arguments.

Jurors will be able to see an examination of Pitts’ scalp, inside of her skull, and the difference between a malleable baby scalp and an adult scalp. In front of the jury, the prosecutor mushed his hands together to show that the force used to crush Zorii’s skull was “so dramatic that her brain leak[ed].” 

The prosecutor said Williams had custody of the child at the time of her death.

“They don’t know what the truth is, or what they think it is,” Polansky said during his opening argument.

“Apparently something horrible happened to Zorii, but it was not at the hands of my client.” 

Polansky told jurors that Williams is a loving man, a good man, emphasizing how he went to work every day to support his family. Zorii wasn’t Williams’ daughter. He took care of her while having the responsibility of taking care of his other children as well. 

Looking back on the morning Williams and the mother discovered that Zorii was unresponsive, Polansky told the jury how Williams performed CPR on the infant in an attempt to save her. 

Additionally, two days following her death, Williams waived his rights to a lawyer and gave a voluntary statement to the Baltimore Police Department. According to Polansky, his voluntary statement was given before Williams learned about the cause of the child’s death. 

Following open arguments, the prosecution called a paramedic from the Baltimore City Fire Department to the stand.  The paramedic who managed the scene that day recalled how he observed how Zorii felt cold to the touch, signifying that her’ blood had not been matriculating.

According to his testimony, he observed a female crying frantically and screaming as he arrived at the scene.

After pronouncing Zorii’s death, the paramedic explained his process of physically examining her body after death. During that physical examination, he said he did not see the bruising on Pitts’ head at first, which was exhibited by an image published by the prosecutor. If so, he would have documented it, he said. 

According to a press release, Southern District patrol officers from the Baltimore Police Department were called to the unit block of South Monastery Avenue at approximately 8:50 a.m. on May 15, 2021. 

When officers arrived, they found the infant unresponsive in a bassinet. 

Following an autopsy, the medical examiner ruled that Pitts died from blunt force trauma to the head, specifically, a crushed skull.

Williams’ trial is scheduled to continue with additional witness testimony on April 15.