Teen boy kills his younger brother over chocolate dessert

A 13-year-old boy accused of killing his younger brother over a dessert will be charged as a juvenile, prosecutors said.

Photo: Teen boy kills his younger brother over chocolate dessert

The state attorney's office has not filed formal charges, but said Tuesday that Demetrius Key would stay in juvenile court because he was an abuse victim with no prior record.

Authorities said Demetrius told investigators he choked and beat Levares Key, 8, because the boy ate a chocolate dessert and picked a scab that bled. Demetrius told police he feared being blamed for those things when the boys' mother, Tangela Key, returned home.

The mother was arrested on an aggravated child neglect charge shortly after the Sept. 29 death.

Orange County Sheriff's investigators say Tangela Key had previously instructed Demetrius and other siblings to restrain Levares as she beat him. Key was Levares' birth mother, but another woman cared for him his entire life until a few months before his death, deputies say.