DeSoto teen accused of beating foster child to death, mother charged as well

Pegasus News wire

Katherine Frances, a 6 year old girl in foster care, has died days after a sever beating that resulted in her being taken to the hospital. Today, DeSoto police have arrested a 14 year old boy that lived in the same foster home. Police say that they believe the boy picked up the girl and slammed her to the ground at least four separate times. The incident comes after both the boy and girl had both been removed from the home for fighting by CPS. Upon returning the children to the home, foster parents were instructed by CPS not to leave the two unattended. Criminal charges could still be filed against the foster parents for negligence.

UPDATE: Joyce Luvern Burks, the foster mother of Katherine Frances, has been arrested and charged with suspicion of injury to a child. Police believe that Burks could have taken her foster child to the hospital hours before she actually did. That delay in medical care could have cost Katherine Frances her life.