A Michigan man accused of murdering his 5-year-old stepdaughter allegedly told police he "snapped" when she asked for food, stabbing the little girl to death and then setting her body on fire in an effort to cover up the crime, officials said in court.

Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn't leave his bedroom in their Holt apartment after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1, Ingham County Detective Chuck Buckland testified during a preliminary hearing Thursday, according to the Lansing State Journal.

McClellan allegedly told police that he wrestled the little girl to the ground, sat on her hips and stabbed her numerous times, the detective said.

He then allegedly covered the child's lifeless body with blankets, doused the pile with vodka and set it on fire, Buckland continued.

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6 PHOTOS Thomas McClellan allegedly kills his 5-year-old stepdaughter See Gallery Thomas McClellan allegedly kills his 5-year-old stepdaughter Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn’t leave his bedroom after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1. (Photo credit: INSIDE EDITION) Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn’t leave his bedroom after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1. (Photo credit: INSIDE EDITION) Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn’t leave his bedroom after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1. (Photo credit: INSIDE EDITION) Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn’t leave his bedroom after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1. (Photo credit: INSIDE EDITION) Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn’t leave his bedroom after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1. (Photo credit: INSIDE EDITION) Thomas McClellan, 25, allegedly became incensed when Luna Younger wouldn’t leave his bedroom after she asked him to get her something to eat on November 1. (Photo credit: INSIDE EDITION) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

A medical examiner reportedly testified that Luna died from at least five stab wounds to the chest and was dead by the time her body was burned.

Firefighters responding to the spreading fire eventually discovered Younger's body under the blankets, but they said they knew nothing could be done to save her.

"I knew the victim had expired," Delhi Township Firefighter Corey Drolett testified.

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Still, he passed her little body through a window to a fellow firefighter and CPR was "very lightly" performed on the child.

"Based on the situation [I] felt that would show [the mother] that we were attempting some effort," Drolett said.

Younger's mother, Victoria McClellan, who was at work at the time of the killing, and told authorities she and her husband had been "bickering" earlier in the day, the State Journal wrote.

She convinced McClellan to surrender to police. He was taken into custody shortly thereafter.

McClellan, who had no criminal history, was charged with murder, first-degree child abuse and first-degree arson. He could face up to life in prison if found guilty.

Judge Thomas Boyd ruled that there was enough evidence to proceed to trial on all three charges. A court date has not yet been set.

McClellan's attorney, Andrew Abood, said that while the judge's decision was not surprising, he thinks "the story has yet to be fully developed. We only saw part of the story at the preliminary exam."

Luna was remembered as a "happy kindergartener" who "loved school," her obituary read.

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"Recess, math and lunch were the favorite parts of her day," the memorial continued. "This sweet angel will be missed forever by her family and friends."

Loved ones were stunned by the child's gruesome death, taking to social media to express their grief.

"Luna was a delightful fairy, full of both sugar and spice. She was a special little girl and you did a beautiful job raising her," wrote one donor on a YouCaring Page created to help Luna's mother and family.

The YouCaring page quickly surpassed its goal of $7,000, having raised almost $12,000 as of Friday. As the donations continued to pour in, so did the heartfelt words.

"The light in her eyes was so bright ... She was wise beyond her years and had Godliness within her adorable little self. May you find comfort in God's graces," a mourner posted.

"I had the magnificent blessing of being Luna's kindergarten teacher this year," one of her educators wrote. "She brought light into my room for 41 days, and for that I am forever grateful. I continue to hold her close in my heart and know that I have an angel watching over me."

Related: Also learn more about infamous cold cases:



10 PHOTOS Notable cold cases and unsolved murders throughout history See Gallery Notable cold cases and unsolved murders throughout history In June 1893 Lizzie Borden stood trial, later acquitted, for killing her father and stepmother with an ax. (Photo via Bettmann/Getty Images) Foreboding Kingsbury Run, shunned by the timid as the legend of its murders has grown, is indicated on this map by dots locating 10 of the 11 torso murders which have occurred there since Sept. 23, 1935. Police, delving into the lives of the mad murderer's victims, hope to uncover clues which will end the periodic killings. Discovery of photo negatives in the belongings of Edward Andra Ssy, first victim, show Andra Ssy in a strange room which, if identified, may provide a live lead, police believe. As the map shows, the murderer departed only twice from his custom of assailing victims in Kingsbury Run or adjacent Cuyahoga river valley. (Bettmann via Getty Images) Bucks Row, now Durward Street, east London, where the body of Mary Ann Nichols, victim of Jack the Ripper, was found lying across the gutter. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Head shot of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, a murder victim nicknamed the Black Dahlia. (Photo via Bettmann/Getty Images) Daily News front page dated June, 16, 1990, Headline: IS HE THE ZODIAC?, Police sketch of man who approached latest victim in Central Park last Thursday and asked him his birth date., June 26, 1990 . , Zodiac Killer. , Heriberto Seda. Headlines. IS HE THE ZODIAC ? (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) U.S. labor leader Jimmy Hoffa is photographed at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania in this April 12, 1971 file photograph. Hoffa was switching planes from San Francisco, and was returning to the federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Hoffa was let out of prison to visit his wife, who had been hospitalized with heart problems. FBI teams on May 25, 2006 sifted by hand through dirt from a chest-deep hole in the ground in an intense search for the body of Jimmy Hoffa three decades after his disappearance. Hoffa was last seen outside a Detroit-area restaurant where he was to meet New Jersey Teamsters' boss Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano, a member of the Genovese crime family, and a local Mafia captain, Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone. Hoffa was declared dead in 1982, and numerous books about his life have pinned his disappearance on mobsters who murdered him because they did not want him interfering with their close ties to the union. (REUTERS/Jerry Siskind) The site where 6 year old JonBenet Ramsey was killed in Boulder, Colorado, 1996. (Photo by Karl Gehring/Liaison) Black car in which rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot by unknown driveby assassins as he was riding w. friend Death Row records. pres. Marion Suge Knight, who survived shooting, behind police tape at crime scene (Photo by Malcolm Payne/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images) Los Angeles Police detectives released this composite drawing March 27 of the man they believe killed rap star Notorious B.I.G. in Los Angeles recently. The suspect, a black man in his early 20's with close-cropped hair, was wearing a bow-tie the night of the drive-by killing. Investigators have set up a toll free number for the public to call with any information about the suspect. NOTORIOUS BIG Donna Norris poses next to a photo of her daughter Amber Hagerman, January 4, 2011, who was kidnapped 15 years ago while riding a bicycle near Norris mother's home in Arlington, Texas on January 13, 1996. (Richard W. Rodriguez/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT via Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

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