Do you remember the 6 yr old girl killed by "wrestling moves"?

[sledge]

Here is the follow up story:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107334,00.html

Wrestling-Death Killer Signs Papers OK'ing Deal

MIAMI — The mother of a Florida teen who beat a 6-year-old playmate to death said neither she nor her son is happy with the terms of a plea deal yet chose to accept it simply so he could have freedom.

Lionel Tate (search), 16, signed papers Sunday agreeing to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the 1999 beating death of Tiffany Eunick. Tate could be freed by the end of the month from a maximum security juvenile prison in Okeechobee.

"My son wants to come home. I want him home," said Kathleen Grossett-Tate. "He did not receive a fair trial the first time. For us to go back to trial again, I know he would not get a fair trial."

An autopsy showed Tiffany suffered a fractured skull, lacerated liver, broken rib, internal hemorrhaging and cuts and bruises. Tate's trial attorneys argued he accidentally killed her while imitating the moves of professional wrestlers he saw on television.

Grossett-Tate said she would have preferred her son to plead guilty to manslaughter (search) since she and her son contend Tiffany's death was accidental. They declined the same second-degree murder plea deal before Tate's trial.

Tate's first-degree murder conviction and life sentence were overturned last month after state appellate judges ruled that his mental competency (search) should have been tested before trial. Following that decision, prosecutors again offered the plea deal, giving the teen a rare second chance.

In the deal, Tate is agreeing to be sentenced to three years in prison -- most of which he has already served -- plus one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

"Just knowing it's all been signed, I'm very happy for him that he and his mom are on the same wavelength and moving forward," said Richard Rosenbaum, Tate's attorney.

A judge still has to ratify the plea deal, a process that could take a few weeks, Rosenbaum said. No hearings have been scheduled.

Ken Padowitz, who prosecuted Tate and now represents Tiffany's mother in private practice, did not return a message left Sunday. He said Saturday that the girl's mother was pleased that Tate was accepting responsibility for the murder.

Special prosecutors appointed nearly two years ago cleared Grossett-Tate, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, of any wrongdoing in Tiffany's death. Grossett-Tate was baby-sitting Tiffany in her Pembroke Park home and said she was upstairs napping when the girl was injured.
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This whole affair just smells! How can an adult be babysitting and NOT know this was going on? How can an "accident" cause a fractured skull, lacerated liver, broken rib, and internal hemorrhaging? This kid is a teenager - she was 6 for Christ sake - he should NOT be set free.