Sad but true story for today: 12-year-old beats toddler to death with bat for crying.

[BigRedChief]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/06/....ap/index.html

12-year-old beats toddler to death with bat, police say

• The boy was arrested Saturday on first-degree murder charges, police say
  
• Boy confessed that he was home alone baby-sitting girl and toddler
  
• He was arraigned in juvenile court Sunday and remained in custody
  
Case recalls saga of Lionel Tate who was 13 when convicted of a similar crime

LAUDERHILL, Florida (AP) -- A 12-year-old boy beat a toddler to death with a baseball bat because she was crying while he was trying to watch TV, authorities said.

The boy, who was not identified, was arrested Saturday on first-degree murder charges, Lauderhill police spokesman Lt. Mike Cochran said.

He was arraigned in juvenile court Sunday and remained in custody, but it was not clear if he had an attorney or if anyone else would be charged in the girl's death.

Cochran said the boy confessed to authorities that he was home alone Friday baby-sitting a 10-year-old girl and the 17-month-old girl and became angry when the toddler began to cry. The relationship between the three was not clear.

At some point, an adult called 911. The girl, Shaloh Joseph, was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead of blunt force trauma to the head, Cochran said.

The Miami Herald identified the boy's mother as Guerla Joseph. A telephone listing for a Guerla Joseph in Fort Lauderdale had been disconnected.

The case is not the first in Florida where a boy so young has been charged in the death of a child. Lionel Tate was 12 when he beat and stomped to death a playmate half his age in Florida.

At the time, Tate was the youngest person in modern U.S. history to receive a life prison sentence. His attorneys initially said he accidentally killed 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick in 1999 while imitating pro wrestling moves.

Tate was convicted as an adult of first-degree murder, but the conviction was thrown out in 2004, and Tate pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Kerberos]

It is all predicated on the maturity of the 12 yr old.

Some 12 year olds are more reponisble than some adults I know.

Some 12 year olds don't have the common sense god gave a house plant.

Grandparents and VERY good friends with children of thier own are the ONLY people that have watched my 4 yr old. It's not that I don't trust anyone else..... It's that I don't trust anyone else.

[Bump]

that's horrible. I wonder which video game or movie will be blamed for this one.

[Halfcan]

Where the hell were the parents???

[Thig Lyfe]

Originally Posted by Bump

that's horrible. I wonder which video game or movie will be blamed for this one.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by SportsRacer

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_i...creenShot1.gif

He stayed clean during the steriod era but now this

[Bump]

Originally Posted by SportsRacer

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest

that might be the one

all joking aside, that is horrible and disgusting. I wonder what the parents situation is, they obviously don't know how to raise their kids if their 12 year old is capable of doing something like that.

[Nightfyre]

I wonder what show he was trying to watch.

[DJJasonp]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

I wonder what show he was trying to watch.

Late night with Ike Turner