Feb 12, 2023

Kan. man convicted of murder after 2-year-old son drowns

Posted Feb 12, 2023 3:00 PM
First responders on the scene of the drowning in July of 2020 -photo courtesy KWCH
First responders on the scene of the drowning in July of 2020 -photo courtesy KWCH

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man whose 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool in Wichita has been convicted of first-degree murder.

William Kabutu was convicted Thursday in the July 7, 2020, death of Omari Garcia in a pool at a mobile home park.

Prosecutors said Kabutu was drunk when he allowed Amari and his 4-year-old brother to squeeze through a fence around the closed pool. Amari went into the water and drowned.

Kabutu-photo Sedgwick Co.
Kabutu-photo Sedgwick Co.

Kabutu was unable to get into the pool because of the fence and locked gate, prosecutors said.

He was convicted of first-degree murder, an alternative count of second-degree murder, and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. He will be sentenced on April 18.