Boy, 12, held in toddler’s beating death

A 12-year-old boy beat a toddler to death with a baseball bat because she was crying while he was trying to watch TV, authorities said.

The boy, who was not identified, was arrested Saturday on first-degree murder charges, Lauderhill police spokesman Lt. Mike Cochran said. He was arraigned in juvenile court Sunday.

Cochran said the boy confessed to authorities that he was home alone Friday baby-sitting a 10-year-old and the 17-month-old girl and became angry when the toddler began to cry.

At some point, an adult called 911. The girl, Shaloh Joseph, was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead of blunt-force trauma to the head.

The case is not the first in Florida in which a young boy has been charged in the death of a child. Lionel Tate was 12 when he killed a playmate half his age.