A woman who yesterday admitted to taking part in the brutal death of her 5-year-old stepdaughter could be at risk of "bodily harm or injury" if details of the girl's slaying are released to the public, her lawyer argued.

In requesting that parts of a plea agreement involving Delilah S. Williams, 23, be sealed, assistant federal public defender Alexander Silvert also stated the graphic and heinous nature of the description could taint the jury pool in the trial of Williams' husband, who could face the death penalty if convicted in the child's death.

Federal Magistrate Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, who accepted Williams' guilty plea yesterday, granted the request by Silvert, and by assistant U.S. attorney Marshall H. Silverberg, to seal parts of the plea agreement.

The sealed portions, which run to about seven pages, "are not a detailed recitation, but merely an outline of what happened in relation to the charge to which the defendant is pleading guilty," the agreement states.

Kobayashi set a Wednesday deadline for counsel or the news media to file objections to the sealing of the portions.

The Honolulu Advertiser plans to object to the sealing of parts of the plea agreement and has retained First Amendment attorney Jeffrey S. Portnoy to represent the newspaper.

A superseding indictment filed Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court charged Naeem J. Williams, 26, with two counts of first-degree felony murder and Delilah Williams with one count of first-degree felony murder.

Naeem Williams' trial is set to start Oct. 16.

Silverberg, Silvert and Naeem Williams' attorney, David Klein, who was present at yesterday's plea, would not comment yesterday.

ASSAULTS 'INTENTIONAL'

Delilah Williams yesterday admitted in federal court to an intentional "pattern and practice" of assault that resulted in the death of Talia Emoni Williams, who was found unresponsive on July 16, 2005, at an apartment at Wheeler Army Airfield.

"I assaulted Talia, my 5-year-old stepchild," said Williams, speaking in U.S. District Court yesterday. "The assaults, they were intentional and they weren't by accident or mistake."

In exchange for her plea, Williams will testify against her husband in the guilt phase of his trial but not during the sentencing portion. The government also will dismiss charges of assault and evidence tampering, which involved allegations that the couple cleaned "off the blood from minor child T.E.W. that was on the walls and floors because it was evidence of their abuse ... "

DEAL COULD CHANGE

Court documents state that prosecutors will be free to move to withdraw the agreement if Delilah Williams later changes her testimony substantially from what is contained in the plea deal.

In the document, prosecutors give an example of what such "materially different" testimony could entail, stating "(for example, that she and not Naeem Williams was the one who inflicted the final blow before Talia died) ... "

If U.S. District Judge David Ezra accepts the plea agreement, Williams faces 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and a $100 assessment fee for the felony murder charge.

Her sentencing is set for April 16 at 2:15 p.m.

Delilah Williams admitted yesterday that "at some time after Dec. 13, 2004, and culminating in the death of Talia E. Williams on July 16, 2005," she did "unlawfully kill T.E.W., a child, in the perpetration of part of a pattern and practice of assault and torture against a child," according to the plea agreement.

Talia Williams died after she was beaten and knocked to the floor of her apartment, court documents state. An autopsy found she died of "inflicted head trauma due to battered child syndrome."

WETTING PUNISHMENT

The day Talia died, Delilah Williams told U.S. Army investigators, Naeem Williams spanked Talia with a belt for wetting herself, according to court documents.

He struck her later that day after she wet herself again. This time, the child fell and hit her head on the floor. She lost consciousness, and the Williamses waited before calling 911, court documents state. When paramedics arrived, Talia was unresponsive and without a pulse. She was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Naeem Williams told investigators that he hit Talia almost every day, court documents state.

He is believed to be the first in the country to face the death penalty under a provision passed by Congress three years ago for first-degree murder cases involving "a pattern or practice of assault or torture against a child or children."

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.