An Alabama woman whose daughter was beaten to death while she was out with a friend clubbing has been indicted, the Associated Press reports.
Katerra Lewis, 27, is now facing charges of reckless manslaughter in the case involving her 1-year-old daughter, Kelci Lewis, who was beaten to death, prosecutors say, by an 8-year-old boy after the child, along with several other young children, was left at home with only the 8-year-old to care for them.
According to the report, Lewis and a friend left the children when they went out in October. Authorities charge that the 8-year-old, who was babysitting, beat little Kelci when she started crying and then put her back in her crib. No one reported that the child was unresponsive until the following day. The 1-year-old suffered severe head trauma and internal injuries from the beating.
The 8-year-old was charged with murder in November, and his case is being handled in the juvenile court system, AP notes.
Back in January, Jefferson County District Judge Shelly Watkins ruled that probable cause did not exist to support a reckless-manslaughter charge against Lewis and dismissed the case. However, she told prosecutors that they could bring the case before a grand jury anyway.
After the charge was dismissed, Lewis' attorney, Emory Anthony, said that Lewis was not involved in the child's death and that it didn't make sense to prosecute the mother, since the boy allegedly responsible for the assault had been arrested.
A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Lewis on May 27, accusing her of recklessly leaving the 1-year-old in the care of another child whom she knew to be dangerous, or in conditions where the girl could not be protected from abuse, AP notes.
Read more at CBS News.