Handgun wasn't in tot's hand

Investigators said Wednesday they believe 19-month-old Korbyn Eva May Williams was not holding the gun that fired the shot that killed her March 5.

"We do not have reason to believe the child had the weapon in her hands at the time of her death," Flathead County Detective Cmdr. Jeanne Landis said.

The preliminary finding appears to contradict what Dwayne Scott Smail, 23, told detectives happened the night Korbyn died.

According to court documents, Smail said the gun discharged when he went to grab it from the toddler. The girl died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head.

Smail had placed the handgun - which had no safety - on an exposed portion of his bed's box spring before going to sleep. He told detectives he awoke to Korbyn tapping him on the shoulder, holding the 9 mm Ruger pistol.

Smail, who has been charged with negligent homicide, is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center in lieu of $200,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled March 27 in Flathead County District Court.

Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances of the shooting, including where Smail and Korbyn were in relation to each other when the gun went off. Additional information on how the gun discharged was not available Wednesday.

"I'm fearful that the release of any further information at this point could compromise the investigation," Landis said.

Full test results from evidence collected at the scene may not be available for some time, investigators said.

Korbyn's body was taken to the Montana State Crime Lab in Missoula for a forensic autopsy. A blood-spatter analysis is being conducted by specialists from MicroVision Forensics. The specialists also are employees of the Washington state crime lab.

Experts also are conducting a distance analysis, DNA analysis, gunshot residue analysis, and logistical analysis on the gun to determine how much pressure on the trigger is required to fire the weapon.

The toddler had been found with the pistol a few days before the shooting, and the toddler's mother, Aimee Marie Williams, told police she had asked Smail several times to keep the handgun out of Korbyn's reach, according to court documents.

Smail was in a relationship with the toddler's mother and was caring for the child in an Evergreen apartment the three shared while she was at work, according to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

No one else was in the apartment at the time of the shooting.

If convicted, Smail could face as long as 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com