A Texas father has been cleared of murder after his 7-year-old son confessed in the death of the boy's 2-year-old sister.
Anthony Michael Sanders was accused of murdering his daughter, Ellie Sanders, in 2015, The Chicago Tribune reported, but the capital charge was dismissed after the toddler's 7-year-old brother admitted to accidently smothering his sister.
It is alleged that Ellie Sanders was playing with her brother when he rolled a "heavy" pillow onto her face and could not move it off.
According to court documents cited by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "he was unable to move the pillow. He said that the pillow was a rectangle and was heavy. It had something zipped inside which made the pillow heavy."
It is reported that Ellie Sander's mother, Cassie Wright, contacted prosecutor Dale Smith in August, telling him her son had admitted being responsible for his sister's death.
This was confirmed in an interview with the child who said that, upon realizing his sister was dead, he told his father.
Anthony Sanders was arrested in April last year, with investigators theorizing that he had suffocated his daughter by holding his hand over her mouth and holding her down.
Watauga police Sgt. Jason Babcock had described it as "a fit of rage-type," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
However, Anthony Sanders maintained his innocence, initially telling Watauga investigators that he found his daughter not breathing after his son said she would not wake up from sleeping.
Anthony Sanders' defense attorney, Tim Moore, said he did not think his client would face any other charges in connection with the case.
"It's my understanding that it's over; there will be no more charges coming out of it," he said per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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