Story highlights State law doesn't allow criminal charges against 8-year-olds, prosecutors say

1-year-old's death might have been averted if moms had checked on kids after club, police say

(CNN) When a 1-year-old girl wouldn't stop crying while her mother was at a club, an 8-year-old boy became annoyed and "viciously attacked" the toddler, beating her to death, police in Birmingham, Alabama, said.

Little Kelci Lewis suffered severe head trauma and "major internal organ damage," leading to her death, police said in a statement.

"We did have some information that the 8-year-old got extremely agitated because the 1-year-old refused to stop crying, and so I guess the 8-year-old took it upon himself and began to commit violent acts against the 1-year-old," Lt. Sean Edwards of the Birmingham Police Department told reporters Tuesday.

The girl's mother, 26-year-old Katerra Lewis has been charged with manslaughter, police say. She is out of jail on a $15,000 bond. The 8-year-old's case will be handled in juvenile court, authorities say, where criminal charges are not allowed. He is in the custody of the state.

Police say Lewis and her roommate, a mother of five, went out about 11 p.m. on October 10. Lewis left Kelci under the supervision of her roommate's children, all far too young for the responsibility, police said.

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