Richland County man pleads guilty to crime after 4-year-old daughter died, prosecutor says
A South Carolina man is going to prison following the death of his 4-year-old daughter, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Wilbur Fields, a 35-year-old Richland County resident, pleaded guilty to homicide by child abuse for the death of his daughter, Hope Fields, the solicitor’s office said Monday in a news release.
Wilbur Fields was sentenced to serve 50 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, according to the release.
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said Hope died Feb. 18, 2024, two days after the child was initially brought to a hospital.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said hospital officials alerted them that a 4-year-old had been brought into the hospital with severe burns, broken bones and suffered cardiac arrest a couple times on the way to the hospital.
Hope was unresponsive when she was admitted to the hospital, with burns covering about half of her body, the solicitor’s office said in the release. Doctors conducted medical tests that showed she no longer had brain activity because of the severity of her injuries, which ultimately led to her death, according to the release.
During an investigation, the sheriff’s department learned that Wilbur Fields held his daughter down in scalding hot bath water because of potty training issues, causing instantaneous first-degree burns, the solicitor’s office said.
Hope’s siblings, both younger and older, witnessed the incident, according to the release. The other children, who were placed in protective custody, recounted what they saw and heard from their father and sister “as she was enduring the abuse,” the solicitor’s office said.
Following the incident, Wilbur Fields withheld medical care for his daughter for approximately 24 hours, during which she was unresponsive, according to the release. He later admitted during an interview with law enforcement officers that he placed his daughter in the bathtub and that “he failed his child,” the solicitor’s office said.
A criminal case against Hope’s mother, 33-year-old Fifi Hill, is still pending, according to the release.
In a 2024 news conference, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said that Hill “stood by and watched” as the child was placed in the scalding water.
Lott said that there is a “special place in Heaven” for young Hope Fields, and a “special place in hell” for her parents.
Deputy Solicitor Anna Browder, Solicitor Byron Gipson and Assistant Solicitor Sam McGlothin prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office.
Lugoff attorney Ashley Noland Berry was listed as Wilbur Field’s lawyer, Richland County court records show.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Richland County man pleads guilty to crime after 4-year-old daughter died, prosecutor says."
