Police Charge 12-Year-Old in Toddler's Killing

By Sonia Dasgupta

This story has been updated on July 10:

Police have charged a Prince George's County 12-year-old with second-degree murder in the fatal beating of a toddler.

Two year old Aniyah Batchelor was found unresponsive by the Fort Washington suspect’s father on July 2 in the 1800 block of Taylor Street, where she had been placed in foster care by a state agency, Prince George's County Police spokeswoman Julie Parker told The Washington Post.

The suspect's father attempted to perform CPR on the girl while paramedics were in route, but Batchelor was ultimately pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police.

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 pre-teen was charged with murder in Prince George's County was in 2006, 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.

There were other children living in this home at the time of the beating — including a 15 year old, who was left in charge, and a four year old, police said.

The suspect is being held at the Cheltenham Youth Facility and he is not being charged as an adult at this time, said police.