A little over a year after 10-year-old Kentae Williams' death, his adoptive father is set to stand trial for allegedly drowning him in a bathtub in DeKalb County.

The trial for Leon Williams, a worker at the Georgia Department of Administrative Services, is scheduled to begin July 9, according to court records, at the downtown Decatur courthouse.

The trial could close a shocking episode that led to scrutiny, as well as several firings, in the Division of Family Children Services. Mistakes were made in responding to previous mistreatment of the child, DFCS said last year.

It all ended April 28, 2017.

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DeKalb County police documents accuse Leon Williams, 44, of burning the boy’s feet and holding him underwater while lecturing him about acting out in school. CPR efforts by the father and emergency workers failed at their apartment on Glen Hollow Drive outside Decatur, a police report said.

One document said: “The suspect stated that the child was not listening to the suspect as he was lecturing him, and admitted to holding the child und er water for 30 to 45 seconds and then repeating the same action again.”

Williams is charged with various counts of murder and child cruelty.

The district attorney’s office has filed notice of its intent to seek a sentence of life without parole.

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People 2 People: June 16, 2018

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