ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A teen in Florida is facing a manslaughter charge after police say she killed her 3-year-old sister by putting a pillow over her head after their mother told the girl to quiet the toddler while she was on a work call at an extended stay hotel.
The 16-year-old girl was arrested last Friday, according to police officials in Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando. She appeared before a judge on Tuesday and was ordered to be held in juvenile detention at least until her arraignment on Aug. 8, according to NBC affiliate WESH.
Her mother was in attendance, the news station reported. The attorney for the teen said the family is cooperating.
NBC News does not usually name minors charged with a crime, even those charged as adults.
According to a police report, the 3-year-old girl was being loud so their mother asked her older daughter to keep her younger sister quiet in the suite’s living room while she was on the phone for work in the bedroom. The teenager put a pillow over her sister’s head to quiet her down, and when she returned to the room, her sister was unresponsive, according to the Altamonte Springs Police Department.
Police officers were called to the hotel, and the toddler was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
