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Florida woman accused of beating girlfriend’s toddler son to death with tire iron

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida woman is facing murder and aggravated battery charges in connection with the beating death of a Tallahassee toddler, authorities said.

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According to the Tallahassee Democrat and WTXL, Tallahassee police arrested Te’Lea Jefferson, 23, on Tuesday after receiving a report of a “suspicious death” from an area hospital.

Police said Jefferson brought the unresponsive boy, who was her girlfriend’s son, to the hospital shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Democrat reported. Doctors pronounced him dead soon after his arrival, according to the newspaper.

Although Jefferson initially told police that the child had fallen off a sink as he brushed his teeth, striking a toilet, authorities said her story didn’t match the toddler’s wounds, which included scars from older injuries, the newspaper reported.

Jefferson, who lived with the child, his older brother and the boys' mother, later told investigators that she had used a tire iron to hit the toddler, whom she was watching at the time, according to the news outlets. She also said she had struck both boys previously, WTXL reported.

Jefferson was jailed without bond, authorities said.

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