Girl, 10, charged with killing baby after allegedly stamping on his head at daycare centre
Under Wisconsin law, the girl might be tried as an adult for first-degree intentional homicide
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A 10-year-old girl has been charged with stamping on a six-month-old baby at a Wisconsin daycare centre, killing him.
On Monday, the girl—who is currently detained in juvenile custody—appeared in court where she was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and has been ordered a $50,000 cash bond. In Wisconsin, first-degree homicide charges are initially brought in adult court if the defendant is 10 years of age or older, the Star Tribune reported.
The Chippewa County Sheriff’s department received an emergency call in the afternoon on 30 October from a daycare centre in rural Wheaton, Wisconsin. When the authorities arrived at the scene, they found the six-month-old boy unconscious and bleeding from his head. The baby was then taken to a local hospital, and then to Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. He died on 1 November.
After the police questioned an adult and three children present during the tragic incident, Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said the police named the 10-year-old girl as the prime suspect.
She was allegedly holding the boy when she dropped him. When he began to cry, she stomped on his head out of panic.
“She stated she was holding the child and that’s when she dropped the child,” Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell told reporters. “The child hit its head on the footstool and then the child started crying and she panicked and didn’t know what to do and didn’t want to get into trouble and then she proceeded to stomp on the six-month-old’s head.”
The local doctor who examined the baby’s body determined the injuries are not accidental.
In September, the girl was removed from the custody of her biological parents. Her biological parents appeared with her in court. The girl was living with her foster parents, who run the daycare center, at the time of the tragic incident.
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