Prosecutors file lesser charge in baby's fatal beating

Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors have filed a lesser charge against a Florida woman previously facing up to 30 years in prison for the death of her infant daughter, who authorities say was beaten to death by her 6-year-old brother.

The Tampa Bay Times (https://goo.gl/DwRB2r ) reported Friday that the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office has charged 62-year-old Kathleen Steele with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing injury, which comes with up to five years in prison.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office had charged Steele with aggravated manslaughter in August. That's when authorities say she left her baby girl and two sons, ages 3 and 6, alone in her minivan while she went into a cellphone repair store. Deputies say the baby began to cry, and the older boy beat her to death.

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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.