An eight-year-old boy has been charged as a juvenile for beating to death a baby girl after they were left home alone while their mothers went nightclubbing, police have said.
The boy, who has not been identified, beat one-year-old Kelci Devine Lewis to death because she would not stop crying, Birmingham Police Department spokesman Lieutenant Sean Edwards said.
He is now in the care of the state's child welfare agency.
The mother of the baby, Katerra Lewis, 26, has been charged with manslaughter.
At a news conference, Lt Edwards said: "This is by far one of the saddest cases that I've witnessed since I became a police officer.
He said the eight-year-old got "extremely agitated" because the baby did not stop crying and committed "violent acts".
"The eight-year-old just recklessly, viciously dealt with the one-year-old. If you can imagine... the damage that it takes to cause severe blunt trauma to the head and organs, it's pretty rough."
The child was found dead in her crib on 11 October. She died from severe head trauma and major internal organ damage.
The boy was the oldest of six children left alone as his mother, who has not been charged, and Lewis went out, Lt Edwards said.
The mothers and children all lived together.
Lt Edwards said: "You have an adult mother who had the audacity to leave her one-year-old in the custody with several other children at the house and none of those kids were over the age of eight."
The other children were between two and eight years old.
Lewis turned herself in on Monday and posted a $15,000 bond.
The two women went clubbing at around 11pm on 10 October, and returned around 2am the following morning. They did not check on the children when they returned, and police were called at around 10.30am but it was too late to save Kelci, Lt Edwards said.
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