Crime & Safety
Hearing Continues for 12-Year-Old Charged in Toddler's Death
A judge will determine how to proceed in a case against a Fort Washington preteen charged in his two-year-old foster sister's killing.
The fate of a Fort Washington preteen hangs in the balance as a Prince George's County judge determines if the .
The second day of the hearing will begin Wednesday at 10 a.m.
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According to Nancy C. Lineman, a spokeswoman with the Prince George's County State's Attorney's office, the defense has one more witness.
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"Then it will be up to the judge to decide what happens next (whether to allow the statements in) and when a trial will be held (or in the alternative [defense] and state could determine appropriate plea)," Lineman wrote in an email.
The judge also recessed the hearing to watch a video of the police interview of the suspect.
after the boy's father found his foster sister, two-year-old Aniyah Batchelor unresponsive in the family's Fort Washington home on July 2.
The toddler was in the care of a 15-year-old girl at the time of her death.
An autopsy performed on July 4 confirmed that Batchelor was killed by blunt force trauma and police found that the 12-year-old had beaten the toddler repeatedly, according to the PGPD blog.
The last time a preteen was charged with murder in Prince George's County was in 2006, PGPD Spokeswoman Julie Parker said. In Maryland, in order to be charged as an adult a juvenile must be 14; however, in special cases, this law can be waived.
Do you think the case should go to trial? Do you think a 12-year-old should be charged as an adult? Tell us in the comments.
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