Man Faces 20 to Life in Fatal Beating of Child With Belt

Darrell A. Reynolds, 29, appeared Thursday in Macon County Circuit Court in Illinois, where he was arraigned on charges he beat his 4-year-old daughter to death with a belt, CBS News reports.

Reynolds, of Decatur, Ill., had been giving his daughter beatings for some two years, authorities say. On Aug. 31, paramedics arrived at the Reynolds home to find Amarrah C. Reynolds unresponsive. The child had bruises and scabs covering much of her body, officials say. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"I just killed my daughter," Reynolds admitted in an interview with police, according to officials.

According to CBS News, Reynolds, who is scheduled to return to court Sept. 28, could face 20 years to life in prison if convicted.

Macon County Circuit Court charging documents indicate that Amarrah's death "resulted from exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty."

Read more at CBS News.