Three-Year-Old Girl Beaten to Death in Brooklyn

A 3-year-old girl was beaten to death on Saturday in Brooklyn after her stepfather discovered she had an accident in her pants, law-enforcement officials said.

The stepfather, Kelsey Smith, 20 years old, was taken into custody Saturday night and in connection with the death of Jeida Torres at a homeless shelter in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, the police and officials said.

Mr. Smith is in police custody and couldn’t be reached for comment. He hasn’t been charged with a crime. No information about his attorney was available.

One official said Mr. Smith had been looking after Jeida and her 5-year-old brother while their mother was at work and became enraged when the little girl had the accident on Saturday afternoon.

Mr. Smith fled to his aunt’s house in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens after the attack, said Mark Almodovar, who identified himself as Mr. Smith’s uncle.

Meanwhile, New York Police Department officers arrived at the Bushwick shelter and found the girl unconscious and unresponsive with bruises all over her body, the police said. Her brother also had bruising on his body but was awake and alert, they said.

Paramedics rushed Jeida and her brother to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where she died a short time later, the police said. The boy was listed in stable condition.

Authorities found Mr. Smith, who had slashed his wrists in an attempt to end his life, and took him into custody, the police said.

He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, the police said.

“He’s not a monster. He’s a good kid. He wasn’t a bad person,” said Mr. Almodovar. “I don’t know what made him do this. He was a good father.”

The city medical examiner is currently determining Jeida’s cause of death, an official with the agency said.

Giovany Rodriguez, 29, another resident of the Bushwick shelter, said he recalled hearing loud arguments coming from the apartment the last two weeks.

“I used to hear kids crying…I would hear a lady and man arguing and a baby crying,” said Mr. Rodriguez. “But it never crossed my mind something like that would happen where we live.”

Officials for both the city Department of Homeless Services and the Administration for Children’s Services said they are investigating the situation.