Boy, 12,

Jan 07, 04:40 AM

Jan. 7--accused in tot's death

Upset that the toddler left in his care wouldn't stop crying, a 12-year-old Lauderhill boy picked up a baseball bat and beat the little girl to death, city police said.

"He became enraged . . . because she made noise while he was trying to watch television," said Lauderhill police Lt. Mike Cochran.

The boy was believed to be a cousin of the victim, 17-month-old Shaloh Joseph, who died from multiple blows to the head, authorities said.

He was arraigned Sunday on a first-degree murder charge in Broward County juvenile court, where a judge ordered the youngster held in juvenile detention pending another hearing later this month.

Police said the boy had no previous arrest record.

He had been left alone with his 10-year-old brother and little Shaloh at her home in the 1500 block of Northwest 31st Way in Lauderhill on Friday where the beating took place, authorities said.

When later questioned by investigators, the boy gave detectives a taped confession, Lt. Cochran said.

The harrowing accusations conjured up memories of another Broward County resident, Lionel Tate, who at age 14, was believed to be the youngest person sentenced to life in prison in the United States.

In 1999, Tate, then 12, was accused of killing his 6-year-old playmate Tiffany Eunick while his mother, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, slept.

That case sparked a national debate about child killers and the rationale of sentencing children as adults.

In the new case, the 12-year-old boy is charged as a juvenile, but could later be charged as an adult.

According to police, about 1:15 p.m. on Friday, an adult called 911 saying the toddler had difficulty breathing.

When Lauderhill Fire Rescue arrived, the child was not breathing and was rushed to Plantation General Hospital while medics performed CPR. Police said the little girl died of several blunt force strikes to the head.

On Saturday, police questioned the boy and took him into custody. He is not named in this story because of Miami Herald policy that does not identify juvenile suspects.

At the brief hearing Sunday in front of County Judge Martin Dishowitz, the small-framed 12-year-old sat shackled in a tan jumpsuit, in a row with other youngsters facing charges ranging from punching a parent to drug crimes.

His hair in a teeny-weeny Afro, the boy was one of the smaller and younger kids in the row.

Dressing in their Sunday-best clothing, the boy's father, mother, brother, aunt and uncle attended the hearing, where family members told the judge the boy was afraid of the police who interrogated him, and asked for his release.

At one point, the family offered up the boy's 10-year-old brother to testify, which the judge denied.

"He is not a violent kid," said the boy's mother, Guerla Joseph, dressed in a pinkish suit. "He loves kids."

But the judge said he found probable cause to believe the boy committed the crime and ordered a Jan. 22 hearing.

Outside of the courtroom, while talking to the public defender, his mother burst into tears as others tried to comfort her.

Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider said the case could remain in juvenile court or be presented to a grand jury, which could indict him as an adult.

Another option is that the state can directly file charges against the boy and charge him with second-degree murder, which would allow less stringent sentencing guidelines than first-degree murder.

"This is a very sensitive case and we will treat it as such and determine the best course," Schneider said.

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