A 3-year-old was smothered to death by her teenage sister in an attempt to “quiet her down.” While the mother took a work call at a hotel, the Florida teen smothered her three-year-old sister with a pillow.
For the death of her 3-year-old sibling, 16-year-old Charlise Bell has been charged with manslaughter. The murder took place at the MainStay Suites hotel in Altamonte Springs.
The toddler was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead after police responded to the report of an unresponsive child at the hotel, authorities said in a statement on Monday.
“The investigation is ongoing,” cops said. “However, the preliminary investigation revealed that the sibling … had placed a pillow over her sister to quiet her down. When she returned to the room, her sister was unresponsive.”
While her daughters stayed in the living quarters, the mother worked on her laptop, she told police, according to an arrest report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The report says the toddler was “being loud,” prompting the mother to instruct Charlise to “keep her quiet since she is on the phone for work.”
The report added that things quieted for roughly 10 minutes, the mother told cops, before Charlise abruptly came into the bedroom carrying the unresponsive child.
The Sentinel reported that while trying to give the child CPR, the mom called 911. She frantically told dispatchers that her daughter was “unresponsive” and “Her lips are turning blue.”
According to the news channel, the dispatcher asked the teen if they had a defibrillator, which prompted someone who may have been the teenager to respond.
“We do not have anything,” the unidentified person replied. “We’re not home. We do not have a home.”
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According to the police report, after she was arrested, the teenagers told police she was responsible for caring for the youngster during the weekday while their mother worked 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The teen is not facing adult charges. She is being held at the Seminole County Juvenile Detention Center, WFTV reported. It is unknown if an attorney has been hired.