OSHKOSH (WTAQ-WLUK) — The man blamed for the death of an 18-month-old baby in a Menasha house fire has been sentenced. 30-year-old Vernon Williams was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.
Williams was asleep during the September 2018 fire that was started by a 3-year-old setting a blanket on fire with a lighter. He was convicted of neglecting a child causing death.
Williams admitted he was sleeping when the fire started shortly after 1 p.m., the complaint says. After being woken by a neighbor, Williams went back into the house to try to save the child, but couldn’t get to him. The child who died had burns covering 70 percent of his body.
A doctor who treated Williams for the burns noticed alcohol on Williams’ breath. A blood test showed Williams had a BAC of .257, the complaint states.
