Step-dad charged in beating death of 3-year-old in Brooklyn apartment

BUSHWICK, N.Y. -- A man was arrested Sunday in the beating death of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter. The girl's 5-year-old brother was also assaulted and found with bruises on his body.

Police say they received a 911 call Saturday afternoon from a neighbor who reported screams coming from inside the shelter on Cooper Street in Bushwick, New York.

When police arrived, they found two children inside. The girl, Jeida Torres, was found unconscious and unresponsive.

An FDNY spokesman says Torres was rushed to Wyckoff Hospital in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead.

Her 5-year-old brother was also found with bruises on his body and is listed in stable condition. He told a tragic story to investigators Sunday evening and says his stepfather tried to force his little sister to eat her soiled diaper.

The children were being watched by their mother's new husband, Kelsey Smith, who was not home when police arrived. Smith was watching the kids when Torres accidentally soiled her clothing. Sources say that set off her stepdad.

"He backslapped the kid and caught her on the rib, and then he put her in the room," relative Mark Almodovar said.

After a while, Almodovar says the little girl came looking for the one person who was there to protect her.

"When she came out of the room, she was catching tantrums on the floor, and he thought she was just playing around, being upset cause she doesn't want to listen," Almodovar added.

Almodovar says Torres's stepdad then realized the girl wasn't breathing, and he called his father desperately asking what to do. Family members say the 20-year-old gave Torres CPR, called 911 and then took off. Hours later, police found him at a relative's home in Queens.

"He went in the bathroom and tried to cut his veins," Almodovar said. "He felt guilty and tried to kill himself."

Smith has been charged with felony assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 years old.

Torres's mom, who is hiding her identity, was at work at the time.