5-Year-Old Tries to Save Sister From Fatal Beating

The following story may contain graphic details that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is encouraged.

In October 2014, Kelsey Smith beat his stepdaughter, Jeida Torres, to death and severely beat her 5-year-old brother, who survived. The 5-year-old gave police a full account of the horrific day Smith beat his sister to death, helping put the monster away for 15 years to life.

Smith lived with Jeida’s mother in a Brooklyn homeless apartment. The couple had married about three months before the incident occurred. A social worker had approved the tenants at the residence just days before the incident occurred. However, one of the neighbor’s who resided in the same complex told the NY Post that she heard screaming every night. “Every night, he beatin' on her, she screaming. He accused her of going with other men, then after the beating, like nothing happen,” the neighbor said. “She laughing, carrying on, and the babies still crying.”

Jeida soiled her diaper one day and that’s when an enraged Smith struck.

5-Year-Old Talks to Police

Smith called his wife, Kimberly Torres, who was at work, on October 18, 2014, telling her that he “messed up and hit Jeida and that she was not breathing. Kimberly then called the police who found the girl unconscious in the apartment. He then fled the apartment.

Jeida was rushed to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

Smith shoved the dirty diaper in Jeida’s face, screaming, “Eat it,” “Eat it,” before he kicked the girl and banged her head against the frame of a baby crib. He then choked his sister, 5-year-old Andrew told police from a hospital room where he was listed in stable condition.

Jeida died of blunt force trauma to the head, her death ruled a homicide.

Andrew attempted to help his sister as Smith took out his rage against her. That’s when Smith attacked him, leaving him battered and bruised. Andrew went on to make a complete recovery. Family members say he has no recollection of the incident.

Smith Allegedly Attempts Suicide

After the attack, Smith ran to his mother’s home in Queens where he allegedly attempted to commit suicide by slitting his wrists. His mother was concerned about his well-being and called the police who transported him to an area hospital for treatment. He was later arrested, charged with assault, and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17. The latter charge was later upgraded to second-degree murder.

Lengthy Criminal History

Smith, only 20-years-old at the time of the incident, had 15 prior arrests, including a robbery charge stemming from a 2010 incident when the 15-year-old Smith, then incarcerated at a juvenile detention facility, slammed a 14-year-old boy into a gate, kicked him, put his knee in his throat, and robbed him of $10. He also had several assault charges on his record, including convictions against correctional officers when he was an inmate on Rikers Island.

Smith Accepts Plea Deal

Smith was facing 50 years to life for Jeida’s murder and the assault on the young boy, however, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to lesser charges to get the reduced sentence. He serves his time in a New York prison.

Want more true crime? Check out one or two stories from the main page or get started with one of the choices below.

Smith Contends He Meant to Sexually Assault, Not Kill, Infant

“The evidence suggests that Autumn’s death was a horrible accident, ”attorneys Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming wrote in an argument prepared for the Ohio Appeals Court for their client, Steven Smith. Sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend’s 6-month-old daughter, Autumn Carter, Smith contended that while he intended to sexually assault the infant, he did not intend to hurt nor kill her. The state opted only to charge Smith with murder. Ohio law stipulates that a clear intent to kill must be proven to hand a convict a death sentence. Smith said he was too drunk to realize his actions would result in Autumn’s death. Therefore, if he did not intend to kill the infant, his death sentence should be commuted to life in prison.

TJ Lane School Shooting Spree

“The hand that killed your sons now masturbates to the memory. F**k you all.”

TJ Lane muttered those words during his sentencing hearing in 2012. The 18-year-old was convicted of a killing spree at Chardon High School near Cleveland, Ohio, that wounded three students and left three dead.