Wichita dad guilty in toddler’s 2020 drowning death in fenced, locked swimming pool
A Sedgwick County jury has found a Wichita man guilty of murder and child endangerment in the drowning death of his 2-year-old son at a mobile home park pool in 2020.
The toddler, Omari Garcia, died on July 7, 2020, after his intoxicated father, William K. Kabutu, let him and his 4-year-old brother squeeze through the fence of the locked swimming pool, 1904 E. 54th St. S. in Wichita, while he stayed outside, police have said. Kabutu told police he took the boys to swim over their mother’s objections because he “did not want to be the ‘bad guy’” and tell them no, according to an affidavit released by the court.
Officers noted Kabutu was “very impaired” with alcohol, had “difficulty standing” and was unable to walk steadily when firefighters pulled his son’s lifeless body from the pool, the affidavit says. Omari went into the water but couldn’t keep his head above it, police have said. A passerby reported seeing the boy floating in the water around 10 p.m.
Authorities arrested and charged Kabutu within days.
In a 2020 interview after his death, Omari’s mother told The Eagle the day her 2-year-old died “was the first time in months” her sons had seen Kabutu. Omari loved trains, singing and playing with his cousins and older siblings, Diocelina Garcia also said.
Prosecutors tried Kabutu this week on two counts of aggravated endangering a child, one count of first-degree felony murder and one alternative count of second-degree unintentional but reckless murder. Jurors reached a guilty verdict “on all charges” at 1:15 p.m. Thursday after deliberating for around 2 1/2 hours, Dan Dillon, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, said by email.
Kabutu, 46, previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. He will be sentenced April 18, Dillon said. Judge Christopher Magana presided over the trial.
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 5:46 PM.
