New York toddler beaten to death, mother's boyfriend in custody

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 20-year-old New York City man was in police custody on Sunday in connection with the fatal beating of his girlfriend's toddler daughter at a city homeless shelter, police said. The 3-year-old girl was beaten to death, and her 5-year-old brother also was beaten in Brooklyn on Saturday, according to the New York Police Department. The boy was hospitalized in stable condition, police said. Their mother's boyfriend Kelsey Smith was taken into custody in connection with the beatings, police said. He was not yet formally arrested and specific charges were not yet filed, police said. Sources told local media that the boyfriend became enraged after the little girl accidentally soiled herself. The children's mother was at work at the time, police said. (Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; editing by Andrew Roche)