Mother charged after son beats newborn sister to death

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A 62-year-old Florida woman is charged with aggravated manslaughter after authorities said her 6-year-old son beat his newborn sister to death while the children and their 3-year-old brother were left alone in the family's minivan.

During a news conference Thursday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gulatieri said the baby – 13-day-old Kathleen Bridget Steele – was pronounced dead Monday afternoon at St. Petersburg General Hospital. But investigators believe she died earlier, inside the van where her mother, Kathleen Steele, had left the children for 38 minutes while she visited a cellphone repair shop.

"It was one of the worst things I've ever seen," the sheriff said.

The Tampa Bay Times reports Steele took the baby to a pediatrician Monday morning because she wasn't eating properly. The doctor found nothing wrong with the baby and later told investigators there were no signs of bruising or trauma.

Investigators say Steele went into the cellphone store at 1:50 p.m. Monday.

The 6-year-old boy told investigators the baby started fussing and he tried to calm her. But deputies said the boy later used a doll to show how he repeatedly slammed the infant's head into the minivan's ceiling, dropping her on the floor, flipping her over and pummeling her.

According to investigators, when the mother returned to the van, the boy tried to tell her something was wrong with the baby. They said she disregarded him and stopped at another business before going home. That's when she noticed the baby's injuries.