Monday, Oct. 22, 2012

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP) -- A 10-year-old girl charged in the death of a Maine infant bit her nails and looked down during her first court appearance.

The youngster entered a plea of "no answer" during her arraignment Monday in District Court in Skowhegan on a juvenile manslaughter charge.

The girl is charged in the July 8 death of 3-month-old Brooklyn Foss-Greenaway, who was staying overnight in the girl's home in Fairfield in the care of the 10-year-old's mother.

The state hasn't released the cause of death but Brooklyn's mother was told her daughter had ingested medication and was suffocated.

The girl is the youngest to be charged in a Maine homicide in at least 30 years. She has been named in court filings but The Associated Press generally doesn't identify juveniles accused of crimes.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)