We have more now on a story we broke Wednesday night on News Channel 5.
A judge ruled Thursday a 12 year old boy can go home after police say he killed a baby.
Investigators say the boy confessed to smothering the baby with a pillow -- because the baby wouldn't stop crying.
West Palm Beach police confirm that the boy accused in this horrible case -- is the uncle of the 4 month old victim.
US Marshals arrested him on Wednesday.
The judge ordered the boy not only be confined to his home, but also have no un-supervised contact with any child 10 years old and younger.
The state has 21 days to decide whether to charge the boy as an adult.
"He's 12 years old, he's very young, but young people have been charged before in the adult system with violent crimes," our legal expert Michelle Suskauer says. "So it's something that is completely in the discretion of the State Attorney's office."
Clarissa DeWitt, clinical director at the Center for Child Counseling, weighed in on the psychology behind the boy's alleged actions.
"You'd think at 12 years old, cognitively, they would have the ability to understand right from wrong... but it really would depend on what's in the child's past," she says.
DeWitt says this is an experience that is hard on the child, as well as his parents..
"Definitely they're losing that child - even if the system doesn't take the child, they're losing a part of that child's innocence and a part of that child's childhood to what they're experiencing going through the legal system."
She says moving forward, having the right support system will make a big difference in the boy's life.
"When that happens, if you put in the right services, and you you put the right support for the parents and the siblings and the child, that's going to help buffer the experience for them," DeWitt says.
EARLIER STORY
West Palm Beach police said Wednesday that a 12-year-old boy confessed to smothering and killing a 4-month-old infant with a pillow late last year.
Officers and West Palm Beach Fire Rescue crews responded to the 800 block of 44th Street on Dec. 2, 2015 in reference to an unresponsive 4-month-old.
The child was later pronounced dead at St. Mary's Medical Center.
An investigation revealed that a 12-year-old confessed he placed a pillow over the face of the 4-month-old to stop the infant from crying.
A pickup order was issued for the arrest of the boy for manslaughter on July 11, 2016.
U.S.. Marshals located and arrested the boy on July 27, 2016 in West Palm Beach without incident.
The news has neighbors like Ariel Miller on 44th St. stunned and heartbroken.
"Me being a mother, I feel hurt and you know it's so close to home. Like I have two kids," said Miller.
Judge orders the 12 year old to be released to home detention until August 18. Also, no unsupervised contact with anyone under 10 @WPTV
— Jason Hackett (@JHackettWPTV) July 28, 2016
Very quick hearing. Family declined to comment @WPTV
— Jason Hackett (@JHackettWPTV) July 28, 2016
