6-year-old beats sister to death as mom shops in West Florida

A six-year-old boy beat to death his 13-day-old sister after their mother left them alone in her van for nearly 40 minutes in west Florida

Miami: A six-year-old boy beat to death his 13-day-old sister after their mother left them alone in her van for nearly 40 minutes in west Florida.

Kathleen Steele

The mother, Kathleen Marie Steele (62), appeared in court on Friday and was charged with aggravated manslaughter and neglect in the infant's death.

Pinellas County sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Steele took her children — Frankie (6), Philip (3) and 13-day-old Kathleen — in a mini-van while running errands. She left them inside, with the windows and doors closed. After the baby began to cry, Frankie picked her up and "began flipping her, multiple times back and forth, dropping her around the floor, slamming her head against the ceiling, striking her in the face and causing severe trauma".

When Steele returned, her son told her what happened but she decided to continue with her errands, not returning home until two hours later. By then, the baby was blue. Steele told a neighbour, who called 911. The baby was pronounced dead at a clinic. Steele had appeared on a TV show, 'I'm Pregnant and 55 years old'.

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