ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SOUTH HILL
SOURCE: Associated Press
Three children between the ages of 11 and 16 have been accused in the savage beating of a 3-year-old girl who remained in critical condition Wednesday.
The children were taken into custody the day after the attack. They have now been charged with felonious assault.
The toddler was airlifted to the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in Richmond July 25 after her father came home from work and found her unconscious in her bed, South Hill Police Chief Norman Hudson said.
The child has not regained consciousness and has undergone several operations.
She is in the pediatric intensive care unit with little chance for recovery, Hudson said. A hospital spokeswoman would not comment Wednesday on the child's condition or her prognosis.
Hudson said the girl's mother has been with her at the hospital.
The children - two boys, 16 and 13, and an 11-year-old girl - would only say they beat the little girl July 25 because she refused to cry, officials said.
``It's dreadful. It's something I haven't had to deal with in almost 30 years of law enforcement,'' Hudson said.
The three suspects and the victim live in Lancaster, S.C., and were visiting the toddler's father and other relatives in South Hill for two weeks.
The 13-year-old is a cousin and the other two are half-siblings of the injured girl, he said. Their names and the name of the victim have not been released.
``Being that they're from out of state, there's been very little we can find out about the kids,'' Hudson said. ``South Carolina, like Virginia, is careful about releasing information about minors.''
A hearing is set for Wednesday in Mecklenburg County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The suspects are being held in the W.W. Moore Detention Center in Danville, Hudson said.
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