Teen Who Killed Younger Brother Over Dessert Pleads No Contest

There has been a new development in an Orlando, Florida, case that I covered last year, in which a young boy was allegedly killed by his teenage brother over desert.

On Sept. 29, 2007, 13-year-old Demetrius Key told police that he had been babysitting half a dozen children when his brother, eight-year-old Levares Key, ate a dessert he was not allowed to have. Demetrius said the incident made him angry and as punishment he punched, kicked, and choked his brother. Afterwards, he went to a nearby relative's house and told his mother, Tangela Key, 34, that his brother had "passed out."

"Demetrius offered that Levares upset him by eating a dessert that [he] was not to have eaten," Detective Appling Wells wrote in the arrest affidavit. "He also advised Levares upset him by picking a scab and causing it to bleed. Demetrius said he feared Levares would blame both circumstances on him and tell his mother he had struck him and eaten the dessert."

The injuries Levares received from the beating proved to be fatal and he was later pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

The Orange County Medical Examiner ruled Levares's death a homicide from closed head injuries; however during Levares's autopsy, the medical examiner found evidence of preexisting injuries, which were in various stages of healing. Those injuries, in conjunction with some 30 scars found on the child's body, led investigators to suspect that the beating resulting in his death may not have been an isolated incident.

"He had fresh injuries and he had old injuries," Orange County Sheriff's Sgt. John Allen said in a September 2007 interview with WFTV.com. "It certainly appears at this point the child has been beaten over a long period of time."

As the investigation proceeded, Demetrius was charged with first-degree murder and was remanded to the Osceola County Juvenile Detention center.

In October 2007, detectives arrested Tangela Key and charged her with aggravated child neglect.

"We have also learned that [Tangela Key] participated in and actually directed her other children to participate in discipline sessions with Lavares, where Demetrius would hold Lavares's legs and another sibling would hold his arms, and she would beat him while the other two children held him," Allen said in an October 2007 interview with Local6.com.

The charges against Tangela Key were later amended to include aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Also in October 2007, the State Attorney's Office announced that they were going to try Demetrius in juvenile court. The reason cited for the decision was Demetrius's "lack of record" and his history of physical abuse.

In January 2008, Demetrius was released from the Osceola County Juvenile Detention center and placed in the custody of his great aunt in Kissimmee, Florida.

The case against Demetrius continued until Nov. 24, 2008, when he pled no contest to manslaughter. As a result of his plea, Demetrius was sentenced to a period of probation until he turns 19. He was further ordered to attend counseling and to avoid all contact with his mother.

Tangela Key, now 35, is scheduled to appear in court next year.

Please note: Persons appearing in mug shots may not have not been convicted of the charges for which they are accused and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Comments

[Karrie]

It saddens me when I read such stories of abuse. Children need to be loved, nurtured and valued, but for some reason many children in Florida don't have the opportunity. Many wonder why our country faces so many problems. If we can't take care of each other what will come of us. I pray Tangela has all of her children taken, isn't allowed further contact and the misguided children finally get a chance to learn what real love is. Maybe then they can grow happy the way it is intented. In respect to the mother, I hope they throw the book at her! Or maybe they should have her held down and someone beat the krap out of her.

[Searching4theLost]

Such a sad story, one young child dead and so many other young lives destroyed due to the selfishness of one woman. How a "mother" can destroy her childrens' lives like this is beyond me, but it happens all the time. Unfortunately, this mom included her other children in her crimes and they will pay for the rest of their lives for her evilness. I hope that they are able to find loving homes and excellent counseling to get beyond this extreme tragedy, and make it out on the other side as caring, loving adults. My prayers go out to them.

[tambra]

How do we hold a child responsible for the way he or she was raised. I figured before I even read the entire article that the mother most likely allowed this abusive behaviour. That her 8 yr. old son was abused by more than only his brother.
The mother should be held responsible for her sons death and for her son who committed such an act.
It just breaks my heart..for this 8 yr. old child who lost his life, but also for the 13 yr. old who was raised to think and believe it was "okay" to abuse his brother or anyone for that matter in that way.
Parents have to be held responsible for their children and their childrens actions.

[ERIN]

It is so sad to read these things in print and to watch them on tv on almost a daily basis. I am so glad to see that she the mother is being held responsible. I do believe that the son should get counseling. My heart goes out to him and his brother. All we can do is keep hope and teach all children that parents like her are to to be acceptable and we should teach it in schools on a daily basis so kids can then maybe report it. Why didn't teachers or anyone else discover the 30 something scars he had. ???

[Cheryl]

There were certainly neighbors or family members who knew this child was being mistreated. As a mandated reporter of child neglect or abuse I urge everyone to PLEASE look at the children around you. ANYONE can call a child protection hotline and just make a report of suspicion and give your reasons why. You will remain anonymous. Any classroom teacher of an 8 year old KNOWS when something isn't right. This breaks my heart.