A 12-year-old charged with beating his toddler foster sister to death entered an Alford plea to involuntary manslaughter Wednesday afternoon.
An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but concedes there's enough evidence to convict.
The boy was charged as a juvenile with second-degree murder of 2-year-old Aniyah Batchelor. She died July 3 after apparently being beaten in the home where she'd been living, in the 1800 block of Taylor Avenue in Fort Washington, Md.
In court Tuesday, the parents of the boy testified that they had not given permission to police to question their son. They also said they didn't know a detective had interviewed him until police told them he'd confessed to the killing.
The testimony came as defense attorneys filed a motion to have that videotaped interview thrown out of court. Ultimately, the video was only discussed, but was not played in court.
Detectives said the boy's grandmother had allowed authorities to speak with him in an interview room, but the grandmother said the detective told her she was taking the boy back to his parents.
The detective also testified that the boy admitted to hitting Aniyahat least six times, and that he may have hit her in the stomach by accident. They also talked about how the 12-year-old would play-fight with his sister.
A disposition, which will determine the boy's fate, is set for Oct. 23.
