A South Carolina man will spend decades in prison for the fatal punishment he inflicted on his 4-year-old daughter.
Wilbur Fields, 35, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on March 3, 2025, just over a year after being charged with the murder of his daughter, Hope Fields. In February 2024, Fields and his wife, Fifi Hill-Fields, 32, were arrested after bringing their daughter to the hospital with severe first-degree burns. Hope, who was reportedly unresponsive when she arrived, spent two days on life support before succumbing to her injuries.
Fields admitted to investigators that he had punished Hope for a bathroom accident by submerging her in scalding hot water.
Hill-Fields was also charged with murder, facing the same charge as Fields, and is awaiting her court date. According to documents, she allegedly admitted to being present during the punishment and aware of the injuries inflicted on her daughter.
Authorities were alerted by hospital staff on February 16, 2024, about a 4-year-old girl with severe burns, broken bones, and who had gone into cardiac arrest a couple of times on the way to the hospital. Investigations revealed that 24 hours before Hope was admitted, her father had put her into scalding water as punishment for having an accident in her pants.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott stated that there were three other children in the house at the time of the incident, with two of them witnessing their sister’s suffering. Lott also emphasized that Hope’s mother stood by and watched the horrifying ordeal unfold. When Hope was taken off life support on February 18, 2024, her parents weren’t present. Instead, three police investigators were there so that Hope wouldn’t be alone during her final moments.
The couple’s three other children were removed from the home by the Department of Social Services and provided investigators with information about the abuse Hope had suffered.
Fields was sentenced after pleading guilty to homicide caused by child abuse. Hill-Fields still faces charges, and a court date has not been announced for her.
