A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally beating his baby cousin after she interrupted a cartoon has pleaded "no contest" and been sentenced to a juvenile treatment centre.
Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider said the sentence could last 12 months to 36 months, depending on his progress. If convicted as an adult, he could have faced life in prison.
A plea of "no contest' means the defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge, and serves as an alternative to a plea of guilty or not guilty.
The boy was babysitting his 17-month-old cousin in January. Police said he became enraged when she interrupted a cartoon he was watching and hit her with a wooden baseball bat several times.
She was later pronounced dead and found to have suffered several skull fractures.
Schneider said the boy appeared to be responding well to treatment.
"It is a very good deal for him," said Gordon Weekes, a lawyer who represented the boy.
"This is an opportunity for the child to have a second chance at restoring his life and becoming a productive member of society."
After his time in the juvenile centre near Tampa, Florida, the boy is to be released to his mother and remain on probation until he turns 21. The boy's name was not made public because he is a minor.