A 62-year-old Florida woman has been charged in the death of her newborn at the hands of her six-year-old son, after she allegedly left the children unattended in a van, police say.
Kathleen Marie Steele faces a charge of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of her daughter, who was 13 days old. The incident happened on Monday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla., when Steele left her three children locked in a van for more than 30 minutes while running an errand, police said.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says Steele's six-year-old repeatedly slammed the newborn around the interior of the van, "pummelling" her and turning her head to "mush." Steele's three-year-old son was also in the vehicle at the time.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says the six-year-old described the attack to police in detail. The boy became annoyed with his sister when she started crying, so he unbuckled her from her seat and "began flipping her multiple times back and forth, dropping her on the floor, slamming her head against the ceiling, striking her in the face and causing severe, severe trauma to the baby's head and face," Gualtieri said at a press conference on Thursday.
Gualtieri said the six-year-old, who will not be charged, was co-operative in showing police how the attack occurred. "He was very demonstrative in what he did. We had him show us with a doll and it was very violent. He was slamming that doll. It was terrible."
Police found forensic evidence in the van consistent with the boy's story, the sheriff said.
The boy placed the infant back in her car seat after the attack, and informed his mother that the girl's condition was "serious" when she returned to the van, Gualtieri said.
Florida mom, 62, charged after son 'pummels' newborn to death | CTV News