Mom Sentenced to Probation After 6-Year-Old Beats13-Day Old Sister to Death

In Largo, Florida, a six-year-old boy beat his 13-day-old baby sister to death while locked inside of a minivan. Mother Kathleen Steele,62, was sentenced to five years’ probation in the 2016 incident.

Steele pleaded guilty to one felony count of leaving a child in an unattended vehicle resulting in injury. She could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison, but the judge chose probation for Steele, who has no criminal record.

The court also helped Steel create a family plan with her two sons, who were 7 and 4 years old at the time. The boys were placed in foster homes after Steele’s arrest.

55 and Pregnant...Steele Mother of Three

Featured on the 2009 TV reality show I’m Pregnant and… 55 Years Old, Steele said she delayed having children due to long working hours. The couple had their first child the same year. Sadly, Steele’s husband passed away in 2011. Steele used frozen sperm to bear two more children with her husband.

Kathleen Runs Errands With Children

On August 8, 2016, at 1:50 in the afternoon, Steele was running errands with her three children. Steele drove the four to a cellphone repair shop in St. Petersburg, Florida. Once they arrived, Steele left her children in the minivan with the engine off, windows up, and doors locked while she spent 28-minutes inside the store.

Six-Year-Old Beats Baby to Death

Baby Kathleen Bridget began to cry. Her oldest brother picked her up from the car seat. The boy then smashed her head into the minivan’s ceiling, dropped her on the floor several times, and then began violently beating the baby with his hands and feet.

Police said blood on the minivan’s ceiling was consistent with that of smashing the baby’s head.

St. Petersburg sheriff’s said the baby had fractures in her skull like “cracks in the sidewalk.” They further said that her brain was like “mush.”

Now, if you think this story is crazy already, keep reading.

Mom "Didn't Notice Injuries" & Ignores Son's Pleas

Steele returned to the car, but did not notice her daughter’s injuries, she stated. Her son had placed the baby back in her car seat but told his mother that she was injured. Kathleen ignored her son.

She continued on with her errands, making two additional stops before returning home to North Redington Beach. The baby was cold and her body already blue. It was estimated that baby Kathleen Bridget was dead for around two hours by the time they arrived home.

Prior DCS Investigations

Friends, family, and neighbors said that Kathleen was an inattentive parent who did not supervise her children and let them run amuck. They also described the boy who beat his baby sister to death as the "neighborhood terror."

The Department of Children’s Services had involvement with Steele twice in the 13-days baby Kathleen had been in the world. The first incident occurred when baby Kathleen was 3-days old after Steele tripped and fell while walking down stairs at a hotel during a fire alarm. Steele put baby Kathleen in a car seat carrier but did not strap her in. The baby fell out of the carrier, hit her head, and was hospitalized.

A second complaint against all three children came on August 2, alleging that Steele was not properly supervising the children.

Investigators visiting the Steele home did not find signs of abuse and neglect and closed the case each time.

Steele Negotiates a Plea Deal

The six-year-old boy was not arrested due to his age.

Steele was arrested, charged with aggravated manslaughter. This charge is punishable by up to 30-years in prison. After Steele negotiated a plea deal with prosecutors, the charge was reduced to leaving a child unattended in a vehicle causing injury.

More Information:

https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_8b18c5ac-6a14-5908-ada7-1b1ec9c00c77.html