ZYDA WHITE - 2 yo (2010)/Charged; 11 yo babysitter - Sandy Springs GA

An 11-year-old girl helping her mother baby-sit has been charged with murdering a 2-year-old, who suffered blunt-force trauma to the head, torso and buttocks, Georgia authorities say.
Police in Sandy Springs, just north of Atlanta, are holding the girl, whose name was not released, in juvenile detention after issuing warrants charging her with felony murder and child cruelty.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard says that his office will determine what charges will be formally filed after reviewing the full police report. "On receipt of that report, we will conduct our own investigation and make a decision on the appropriate charges," Howard's office said in a statement.
Ashlea Collier, the toddler's mother, said she left her daughter with a co-worker and the co-worker's daughter. When she came to get Zyda White after getting off work, the child was lying in bed, her eyes wide open and her skin turning blue.
"She needs to do life," the weeping mother said of the 11-year-old. Collier said the girl told her that Zyda had fallen out of bed. The girl put Zyda back to bed and gave her apple juice. "That was it," Collier said the girl told her.
Paramedics transported the toddler to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined Zyda died from blunt force trauma to her head and suffered heavy trauma to her torso and buttocks.
Legal experts question whether the 11-year-old could be tried as an adult.
"The serious question is whether or not the state can go ahead with an adult charge," Ron Carlson, University of Georgia Law School dean emeritus, told the Journal-Constitution. "We're going to have to let the courts decide that one, because criminal responsibility is limited to those older than 12 years old."
In 2006, the Georgia General Assembly passed Amy's Law, which lengthened the time a juvenile over age 13 could be held for committing a felony. The law was named for 8-year-old Amy Yates, who was strangled in 2004 by a 12-year-old boy. He was held for two years -- the maximum allowed under then-existing law.
The limit is now five years or until the perpetrator's 21st birthday.

Will 11-Year-Old Babysitter Be Prosecuted As Adult?

Girl Charged With Murder Of Toddler

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. -- Fulton County prosecutors are deciding whether to try an 11-year-old Sandy Springs girl as an adult, now that police have charged her with the murder of a 2-year-old girl.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard issued the following statement Wednesday: "Our office is awaiting a full report on this matter from the Sandy Springs Police Department. Upon receipt of that report, we will conduct our own investigation and make a decision regarding the appropriate charges.”

Police said Zeyda White died of blunt force trauma on September 18.

The toddler's mother told CBS Atlanta News, she went to work Saturday night and left her daughter at the apartment of a co-worker. "She's been coming to me in my dreams asking me for help. So she didn't die in peace," sobbed Ashlea Collier.

The co-worker told CBS Atlanta News that she was not at home Saturday night, but that her 11-year-old daughter was in charge of babysitting the toddler. "When we got here, she was unconscious," said Kiyosha Bell.

Police said the 11-year-old initially told detectives the girl was injured while falling off a bed. But an autopsy showed the injuries were inconsistent with the girl's story, police said.

A 911 call was placed by the mother when she arrived at the Dunwoody Pointe Apartments. Doctors pronounced the child dead at the hospital just after midnight.

Sandy Springs police said they have charged the girl with felony murder and cruelty to children, which are adult charges.

Authorities have not released the 11-year-old girl's name. She is being held in the Fulton County Youth Detention Center.

Unable to charge babysitter as An Adult, Prosecutors Charge as A Juvenile

September 24, 2010

In the beginning, the Sandy Springs Police charged the 11 year old child as an adult but at 11 years old she is too young to be tried as an adult and would have had to be 13 years old according to Georgia Law. The District Attorney's decision follows Georgia Law. The Georgia State Juvenile Officials said Wednesday that the 11 year old babysitter who is charged with murder is being held in the Metro Youth Regional Detention Center in Southeast Atlanta.

The 11 year old babysitter is being charged with the alleged killing of Zyda White, a 2 year old baby girl left in her care. White's mother, Ashlea Collier said the child was left with a co-worker Kiyosha Bell and her 11 year old daughter. Collier said that when she returned to pick up her child Saturday night she was unconscious and her co-worker was not at home. Zyda White was rushed to the hospital but pronounced dead. Sandy Springs Police say the 11 year old girl's story was not consistent with the blunt force trauma the baby received. She was charged with felony murder and cruelty to children.

http://www.examiner.com/article/unable-to-charge-babysitter-as-an-adult-prosecutors-charge-as-a-juvenile