Probation for mother, after son kills baby sister

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Her 6-year-old son beat his baby sister to death, now Kathleen Steele, the woman deputies say left her children in a hot car that day will be punished with five years of probation.

Steele waited until later in life to have kids.  She was featured on a TLC realty tv show for using her dead husband's sperm to become pregnant in her late fifties and early sixties.

On July 26th she had her only daughter. 13 days later -- she made a trip to a cell phone repair store in Pinellas County.  Deputies say she was inside for more than thirty minutes and the car became hot.

Deputies say when the baby girl began crying, her six year old son, Frankie, removed the infant from the car seat and severely beat the baby.  She later died with multiple fractures to her skull.

Sheriff deputies charged Steele with aggravated man slaughter but she struck a deal with the State Attorney’s Office to have it reduced to leaving a child in a car causing injury.

Steele’s attorney, Denis Devlaming, said she’s working to regain custody of her children who are now in foster care.

“She needs a lot of therapy,” Devlaming said.  “People have been very critical of her but they don’t understand how much she’s grieving.”

The six year old responsible is receiving counseling and has just recently returned to public school.