Ohio Girl, 11, charged with murdering baby
Ohio court orders the accused to undergo a mental competency examination
An 11-year-old Ohio girl has been charged with murder after she allegedly beat a 2-month-old baby to death.
The girl, who is not being named because of her age, was arraigned before a juvenile court judge Monday and was ordered to undergo a mental competency exam before her next appearance.
At the hearing, the little girl sat beside her mother, wearing leg shackles. Asked if she understood the charges against her, she answered yes.
The incident took place Friday at an apartment in the city of Wickliffe, about 17 miles outside Cleveland. "We're trying to figure out what would motivate someone to do something like that," Wickliffe Police Chief Randy Ice told reporters.
The girl's mother was babysitting the infant, Zuri Whitehead to give the baby's mother a break from caring for a newborn, police said.
After the mother fell asleep on the couch, the girl took Zuri upstairs, and returned 45 minutes later, woke the mother up told her something "was wrong with the baby".
Zuri was taken to a hospital but died on the operating table.
The Cuyahoga County Coroner's office later ruled the death a homicide; the baby had massive injuries to her brain, liver, spleen and kidney, Ice said.
