Bus Monitor Guilty of Child Endangerment After 6-Year-Old Is Strangled

The bus monitor was acquitted of the more serious manslaughter charges she faced. She was on her phone and had earbuds in when a child seated behind her was strangled by a wheelchair’s harness.

A bus monitor who was looking at her cellphone and wearing earbuds when a disabled 6-year-old girl was strangled by her wheelchair harness was convicted of child endangerment on Monday.

But the bus monitor, Amanda Davila, was acquitted of more serious manslaughter charges. The split verdict reached by a jury in Somerset County, N.J., came after nearly two days of deliberation.

Ms. Davila, 27, had faced up to 20 years in prison on the most serious manslaughter charge, which stemmed from the July 2023 death of Fajr Williams, 6. Fajr, who was nonverbal and could not walk, had Emanuel syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that disrupts development.

She was riding a bus to a summertime education program when she slid down in her wheelchair and was strangled by one of its straps, according to surveillance video played during the trial. Ms. Davila was seen on the footage sitting in front of Fajr with earbuds in her ears, looking down at her phone.

The charge on which Ms. Davila was convicted, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, carries a punishment of up to 10 years. Ms. Davila will be sentenced on March 7.

“The outcome was fair,” said Michael Policastro, a defense lawyer for Ms. Davila.