2-Year-Old Child Killed, 11-Month-Old Baby Assaulted In Mississippi, Babysitter Charged With Capital Murder

A 23-year-old babysitter in Mississippi was arrested Thursday for allegedly murdering a 2-year-old and injuring an 11-month-old under her care.

According to Alcorn County Sheriff's Office, 23-year-old Makallie Durham was facing charges that included capital murder and felony child abuse, media outlet WMC reported.

The deputies were called to a home on County Road 380 in Corinth on Tuesday evening. When they arrived, they found the 2-year-old boy unresponsive, and the 11-month-old girl injured. The children were rushed to a local hospital.

Both the children were later shifted to the Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The boy died at the hospital Thursday, while the girl remained hospitalized.

Investigators found the two children were in the care of a babysitter. Local authorities said Durham also had a misdemeanor warrant out in Corinth. However, details of the misdemeanor case were not immediately known. It remains unclear if Durham regularly watched the children in the absence of their parents.

The relationship between the two children involved in the incident has not been revealed. The identities of the children have not been revealed.

It also remains unclear what led up to the child's death that evening, Magnolia state live reported.

In another incident, a Florida babysitter was charged for burning a 10-year-old with a hot pot to "teach the child a lesson." The babysitter, identified as 29-year-old Jennifer Nicole Posey, admitted to burning the child. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said Posey had been arrested. The incident took place on June 26 when Posey was babysitting the 10-year-old child and two other juveniles. "After making the victim instant ramen on the stovetop, the victim was playing with one of the other juveniles, pretending to spill a bowl of hot ramen on her," the sheriff's office said. Posey scalded the 10-year-old child with a hot pot "as a form of discipline." Sheriff Chad Chronister said Posey's actions showed that she intentionally inflicted "unnecessary pain" on the child.

"Children will be children, but an adult should know better than to use such great physical punishment to try to correct their bad behavior," Chronister said. "This suspect's actions were intentional, unacceptable, and she will now face the consequences for inflicting unnecessary pain on a helpless child."