Police have charged an eleven-year-old girl from Ohio with murder after apparently beating to death a two-month-old baby who was in the care of the suspect's mother.

The suspect, along with her mother and the infant victim -- Zuri Whitehead -- were resting on a sofa in the ground floor of a suburban brick house when the mother dozed off at around 3 in the morning on Friday, Police Chief Randy Ice of Wickliffe, Ohio said at a media briefing on Monday.

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The suspect woke her mother minutes later while holding the beaten baby. Police said the girl carried the baby to the second floor. When she went back downstairs, the victim's head was severely swollen and bleeding.

The suspect's mother then dialed 911 for help and baby Zuri was airlifted to a trauma hospital for children in Cleveland, where she later died.

Baby Zuri's mother, Trina Whitehead, had known the suspect's mother for at least five years but they are not related, police said. The 11-year-old's mother volunteered to babysit Zuri to give her friend a break.

Under Ohio law, the suspect cannot be tried as an adult because she has to be at least 14 years old to be handed over to an adult court. But, she can be confined to a Department of Youth Services state facility until she turns 21.

Police said the 11-year-old suspect did not show any remorse, adding she probably could not appreciate the seriousness of what she did.

The suspect was entered a not guilty plea on her behalf by the judge in the juvenile court, Karen Lawson, at a hearing on Monday and the judge ruled that the 11-year-old undergo a hearing for competency.

Police could not recall a murder suspect younger than 13 years old. Federal crime data show there were twenty children 12 years old and younger in the U.S. who face murder charges in 2012.

Police said the school the suspect attends had called in about the girl one time for a non-threatening incident. Authorities questioned the girl and her mother.