Babysitter kills friend’s 1-year-old son, Ohio officials say. ‘Sweetest baby ever’
_fitted.png "Ryder Williams was a year old when he died from blunt force trauma after being in the care of his babysitter, according to court records.")
An Ohio man is headed to prison after officials said he killed a 1-year-old boy he was babysitting.
Nathaniel Schmidt pleaded guilty to murder on March 17, according to court records.
McClatchy News reached out to Schmidt’s attorneys but did not immediately hear back.
On Dec. 12, 2022, emergency crews were called to a home in Dayton for reports of a child not breathing, according to the Dayton Daily News. Ryder Thomas Williams, 16 months old at the time, was taken to a hospital.
He died five days later, the outlet said.
Ryder had been in Schmidt’s care from around 7 a.m. until about 4:40 p.m. when 911 was called, according to court documents.
Schmidt was a friend of Ryder’s father and was living with him in exchange for babysitting, the records said.
“This arrangement left him exclusive access to the children on multiple occasions,” the court document said.
It was determined that Ryder died as a result of head trauma and other injuries, officials said. Schmidt did not offer an explanation as to how Ryder was injured, but later told investigators that he sometimes “blacks out,” according to the court records.
When authorities searched his phone, they found that Schmidt was researching “shaken baby syndrome” in the beginning of the investigation, the court records said.
On the phone, investigators also found a sexually explicit photo of a 2-year-old girl, according to officials. When authorities confronted him about the photo, he admitted it was him in the photo with the girl but that he “must have blacked out,” according to court records.
Ryder’s mom, Chelcie Berrey, told WHIO he had just started walking and loved to eat everything.
“He was the sweetest baby ever,” she told the news outlet. “Whoever did this to my child. I just want what they deserve - justice, and I want justice for Ryder.”
Schmidt’s plea deal comes with a minimum of 15 years to life in prison.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Babysitter kills friend’s 1-year-old son, Ohio officials say. ‘Sweetest baby ever’."
