Newborn baby beaten to death by brother, 6, with reality TV mum, 62, charged over death
Mum Kathleen Steele, 62, told investigators 'I guess I'll have to plan a funeral'
A REALITY TV mother has been charged over the death of her newborn baby after the 13-day-old child was bashed to death by her older brother while the children were left in the car.
Kathleen Marie Steele, 62, had left her six-year-old and three-year-old sons with their baby sister in the family's minivan for almost 40 minutes while she went into a St Petersburg mobile phone repair shop.
The mother - who once starred on TV show 'I'm Pregnant and 55-years-old' - has now been charged with aggravated manslaughter after her eldest son brutally tossed and pummelled his baby sister, Kathleen Bridget Steele, to death.
The little boy at first told police he had been trying to comfort his little sister when she began crying but then used a doll to show them how he had slammed the baby onto the ground.
Police said the six-year-old boy had dropped his mother's phone and shattered the screen, sparking the visit to the mobile phone repair store.
It was there that the children were locked in the car with the windows rolled up.
Police have said the scene was one of the worst they have ever seen.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told media in a conference: "The skull was cracked in numerous places, described as probably mush ... one of the worst things that I've ever seen.
"The baby was beaten and traumatised.
"There was gross swelling in her face. Her skull was cracked in numerous places.
"It was one of the worst things I've ever seen, especially (for) a 13-day-old. Her face had just been pummelled."
Once Steele returned to the car, the little boy tried telling his mother that something "serious" was wrong with the baby girl but she disregarded him.
Steele, who once starred on the show 'I'm Pregnant and 55 Years Old', has since been revealed by investigators as having been watched by child services.
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It wasn't until the mother stopped off at another business before reaching their North Reddington Beach home that she first noticed her child's injuries.
But reported that instead of calling emergency services immediately, Steele contacted a neighbour who is a nurse.
Officer Gualtieri said the nurse immediately realised the little girl was dead but desperately tried to perform CPR on the baby before paramedics arrived.
The little girl, who was born on July 26 this year, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
She had suffered severe head trauma which included extensive bruising and multiple skull fractures.
But while being interviewed by police about the horrific crime, officers said Steele appeared to be aloof.
Instead, she told them "I guess I have to plan a funeral".
The little boy, who admitted to slamming the infant to the ground and causing severe bruising, will not be charged.
Gualtieri instead said: "The mistake is with the adult Kathleen Steele, not a six-year-old boy."
The mother had previously taken her baby to hospital at just a few days old, worried the baby was not eating properly.
The boys have now been put into separate foster care homes.
The family previously attracted media attention when Steele fell pregnant at 55-years-old.
Steele has been raising the family alone after her husband died of cancer at 66-years-old in 2011 with the two youngest children the result of artificial insemination.
Steele is now awaiting trial on a $100,00 bond.
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