NORWICH, N.Y. -- A man killed a child while he was trying to rape her last weekend in his Chenango County home, police said.

James S. Brower, 36, of Norwich, has been charged with murdering Jacelyn D. O'Connor, an 11-year-old girl. He killed Jacelyn as he tried to rape her in his 961 County Highway 33 home, said New York State Police Investigator Jamieson Tefft in a felony complaint.

The felony complaint was filed in Chenango County Court.

The attack happened early Sunday morning, Tefft said. Brower intended to kill Jacelyn when he tried to sexually assault her, he said.

The girl was smothered to death, reported Spectrum News in the Southern Tier. Prosecutors said Brower and Jacelyn had a family connection, the station reported.

Troopers rushed to Brower's home shortly after 11 a.m. after a caller reported Jacelyn was in cardiac arrest, state police said. When troopers arrived, she was dead.

Two days later, Brower was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He is being held in the Chenango County Jail.

Jacelyn was from Morris, a town about 20 minutes away from Norwich in Otsego County. She attended Morris Central School.

"Jacelyn O' Connor was a bright, spunky loved student at Morris Central School. We are all deeply saddened by this loss," the district wrote Wednesday on Facebook. "It is a tragedy that is difficult to comprehend for us all."

A candlelight vigil will be held for Jacelyn at her school on Monday evening.