23-year-old man charged with homicide of 8-month-old child in Columbia

A 23-year-old man is charged in the death of an 8-month-old girl who lived on the 700 block of Martha Street, the Columbia Police Department said.

Diante Goins charged with homicide by child abuse after the child spent three days in the hospital with substantial injuries, police said.

Police went to Prisma Health Richland on Saturday, June 27, after receiving a report of a child with signs of physical abuse. The child died from her injuries on Tuesday, police said.

Investigators determined the child sustained the injuries while in Goins’ care, police said.

Goins is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 8:41 AM.

Joseph Bustos

The State

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Joseph Bustos is a state government and politics reporter at The State. He’s a Northwestern University graduate and previously worked in Illinois covering government and politics. He has won reporting awards in both Illinois and Missouri. He moved to South Carolina in November 2019 and won the Jim Davenport Award for Excellence in Government Reporting for his work in 2022. Support my work with a digital subscription