A Schofield Barracks soldier charged last year with beating his 5-year-old daughter to death was indicted Wednesday morning on a single count of first-degree murder, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court.

If convicted, Naeem Williams, 25, faces life in prison or the death penalty.

The military charged Williams with murder on July 28, but later transferred the case to the U.S. Attorney's office. His wife, Delilah Williams, 21, was charged by criminal complaint on a single count of first-degree murder on July 18.

Delilah Williams, the stepmother of 5-year-old Talia Williams, has yet to be formally charged and the case against her remains open and ongoing, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Agents with the FBI continue to investigate the case against Delilah Williams.

David F. Klein, an attorney representing Naeem Williams, declined to comment about how he would handle the case now that Williams has been indicted.

"We're concerned on behalf of Mr. Williams but we're hoping they (the federal government) don't seek the death penalty," he said yesterday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter, who is prosecuting the case for the government, declined comment yesterday.

Porter and U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo will formulate a recommendation on the death penalty issue that has to be approved by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Prosecutors originally charged Naeem Williams based on a new federal provision that those who repeatedly engage in a "pattern and practice of assault and torture against a child" to the extent that the child dies may be charged with first-degree murder.

The provision was passed by Congress last year.

Talia Williams died July 16, after she was beaten and knocked to the floor of her Wheeler Army Airfield apartment. An autopsy found she died of "inflicted head trauma due to battered child syndrome."

Talia was taken to the hospital July 16 after emergency medical personnel were called to the family's apartment and found her unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Talia's death came after what has been described as months of daily beatings, and her body was removed from a blood-spattered apartment.

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 again later that day after she wet herself again. This time the child fell and hit her head on the floor. She lost consciousness, but the Wil-liamses did not immediately call 911. When paramedics arrived, she was unresponsive and without a pulse.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.