A 7-year-old girl who apparently killed an infant at a Garfield day care center last week will face a dependency hearing in juvenile court, according to the Allegheny County district attorney's office.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., said the hearing would be confidential. No date has been set.

Police were continuing their investigation into the killing, which took place Friday at Bray's Family Day Care, at 5113 Dearborn St.

The 7-year-old girl took 10-month-old Marcia Poston from her baby chair and threw her against a carpeted cement floor at least twice, police said. She later died of head injuries, according to an autopsy.

The 7-year-old girl, whose name has not been released, is the granddaughter of Loretta Bray, the day care center's operator. The girl's aunt, Ashley Swann, was the only caregiver in the center at the time of the incident. She was upstairs changing another child's diaper.

Under Pennsylvania law, anyone who kills may be charged with homicide, no matter how young. But such prosecutions are rare, as are violent crimes committed by young children.

In 2003, a 9-year-old Crafton boy fired a gun out of a window, killing a postal worker. Latoya Burnette, his mother, was later sentenced to 18 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a gun and lying to investigators.

Cameron Kocher, 9, of Kresgeville, Monroe County, was the youngest person in Pennsylvania to be charged with homicide. On March 6, 1989, he took a rifle from his father's gun cabinet, loaded it and fired it out of a window. He killed a 7-year-old girl on a snowmobile.

He later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was placed on probation until he was 21.

For any other crime, a child under 10 is considered too young to be responsible, so child welfare agencies, like Allegheny County's Office of Children, Youth and Families, become involved.

"You're not going to send a 7-year-old to prison," said Melissa Sickmund, chief of systems research at the National Center for Juvenile Justice, which is based in Pittsburgh.

According to FBI figures, children 11 and younger committed nine murders nationwide from 2003 to 2005, Ms. Sickmund said.

Police have said that the 7-year-old girl had anger-management issues.

Rhonda Moore, the infant's mother, intends to take legal action against Bray's Family Day Care, said a relative.

"She didn't like this day care," Alyce Moore said of Rhonda Moore, her sister. "She wasn't thrilled with the day care. She was more concerned that it was close, it was cheap."

The day care center was registered with the state Department of Public Welfare. Anne Bale, a spokeswoman for the agency, said state officials were now investigating the center.

DPW is required to inspect large day cares at least once a year. But the agency only performs random inspections at smaller facilities such as Bray's.

The last inspection, in September 2004, found two violations -- a missing file for a staff member and an absence of someone with knowledge of first aid techniques for children.

Small day care facilities can have no more than six children who aren't related at one time. One care provider is sufficient.

Ms. Bray opened her center in 1999, according to Richard Swartz, executive director of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., which sold her the property. Ms. Bray, who had been living in Garfield Heights, was looking to become a homeowner and start her own business.

"She raised at least four children herself and she thought she could apply those skills," Mr. Swartz said. "I thought it was an enterprising move on her part."

"She clearly is viewed as someone who lives her life by the letter of the law," he said.