Honk News (Richland County, SC) – A South Carolina man has been sentenced to decades behind bars for the tragic death of his 4-year-old daughter due to his actions.
Wilbur Fields, 35, received a 50-year prison sentence on March 3, following charges related to the tragic death of his 4-year-old daughter, Hope Fields, just over a year prior. In February 2024, Fields and his wife Fifi Hill-Fields, 32, faced arrest after taking their daughter to the hospital due to first-degree burns. Upon arrival, Hope was said to be unresponsive and remained on life support for two days before ultimately succumbing to her injuries.
Fields confessed to authorities that he had disciplined Hope for an accident by immersing her in boiling water.
Hill-Fields faces a murder charge, identical to that of Fields, and is currently awaiting her upcoming court date. Documents reveal that she reportedly acknowledged her presence during Hope’s punishment and her awareness of the events involving her daughter.
During a press conference, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott revealed that on February 16, 2024, hospital staff notified police about a 4-year-old girl who arrived with “severe burns, broken bones” and had experienced “cardiac arrest a couple times on the way to the hospital.” Lott revealed that the inquiry found that “24 hours earlier, Hope’s father had put her in scalding water as punishment for going to the bathroom in her pants.”
Lott pointed out that three other children were present in the house during the incident, with two of them having witnessed their sister’s traumatic experience. He remarked that “the mom stood by and watched it. They watched Hope suffer.”
On February 18, just two days after her arrival, Lott revealed that Hope was removed from life support without her parents present. In a poignant moment, three police investigators were present to ensure that Hope would not be alone in her final moments.
A local Fox affiliate has reported that the Department of Social Services has taken the couple’s other three children from the home and has received information from them regarding the abuse their sister suffered.
Fields received a sentence following a guilty plea for homicide resulting from child abuse. Hill-Fields is confronted with the same accusation, and a date for the court proceedings has not been revealed yet.