A 10-year-old girl in Wisconsin was left sobbing in court on Monday morning as she was charged with murder after she dropped a six-month-old baby boy at the daycare centre her foster parents run and stomped on the infant’s head.
The girl, who cannot be named due to a court-mandated gag order, appeared in court for ten minutes, accompanied by both her foster parents and her biological parents. As she faced the court, the child buried her head in a relative’s arms and wept.
Chippewa County Sheriff, James Kowalczyk, testified that the girl had been holding the baby on Oct 30, before she dropped him. It is believed that the girl panicked when she saw that the infant’s head hit a footstool and that she stomped on the baby’s head.
The court heard that the baby was found unresponsive and bleeding from the head. The infant was rushed to a nearby children’s hospital but did not survive the ordeal. He was pronounced dead two days later.
According to the Star Tribune, a medical doctor tesified in court that the infant’s injuries were not accidental.
The girl is presently held on a $50,000 cash bond. While first-degree homicide charges must initially be brought in adult court if the accused is 10-years-old or older, under Wisconsin law, it is expected that the case will be moved to juvenile court at a later date.