An 8-year-old boy in Birmingham, Alabama, who police said Tuesday “viciously attacked” a 1-year-old girl, has been charged with murder, the New York Times reports. The girl’s mother left the children alone to go out to a nightclub.

According to the Times, the boy has not been identified. The 1-year-old girl, Kelci Lewis, was found unresponsive nearly a month ago, on October 11.

A police spokesman, Lt. Sean Edwards said at a press conference on Tuesday that investigators believe the boy became violent when the baby would not stop crying. “The 8-year-old just recklessly, viciously dealt with the 1-year-old,” Edwards said.

The girl’s mother, Katerra Lewis, surrendered to authorities and was charged with manslaughter on Monday. From the Times:

Lieutenant Edwards said that the mother, Katerra M. Lewis, and a friend had left the home where they were staying late on Oct. 10. Six children, none of them older than 8, remained at the home, and while Ms. Lewis was away, the lieutenant said, her daughter began to cry.

Soon, the police said, the boy began to beat the girl, to whom he was not related. She was found and pronounced dead the next morning, more than eight hours after investigators believe Ms. Lewis returned to the home.

The police said the girl had suffered “severe head trauma, as well as major internal organ damage.”

The boy is currently in the custody of the Department of Human Resources, AL.com reports.

“There are just too many deep rooted issues in this horrific crime. It’s extremely troubling from so many different angles and there are no law enforcement answers to prevent it,” Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper said. “We’ve been concerned about the kids and the future effect on their lives. The bottom line is an innocent young baby lost her life and that should be a wake-up call for our community.”

Grandmother Waynetta Callens disputes the police account, saying that there was, in fact, another adult in the house with the children.

“Katerra is not the type of parent that they are trying to portray her as,” she told AL.com. “We all will have our day in court. Never judge a book by its cover, which means don’t try to judge from the outside.”

“People are already talking, I know they are...If you don’t know the real story, keep your mouth closed because you don’t know what happened.”

“We’re holding on the best we can,” Callens said. “We just keep praying because it’s all in God’s hands. We know the truth, and we got nothing to hide.”

Photo of Katerra Lewis via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.