The Allegheny County district attorney's office again is reviewing the case of a 10-month-old girl who was killed at a Garfield day care center in June, after Common Pleas Judge Kim Berkeley Clark said yesterday she doesn't believe a 7-year-old girl blamed in the death is responsible.

Judge Clark made the statement on the final day of the 7-year-old's dependency hearing in juvenile court, where Judge Clark ruled the girl will remain in foster care.

Police have said the girl pulled 10-month-old Marcia Poston from her baby chair at Bray's Family Day Care and threw her to the carpeted concrete floor at least twice while caregiver Ashley Swann, 20, had gone upstairs to change another child's diaper.

Ms. Swann returned downstairs when she heard commotion, police said, and found Marcia on a love seat with blood around her ears, at which point, they said, she called 911.

Pittsburgh police officials last month said they'd forwarded their findings to the district attorney's office and were finished investigating the death.

"We had previously indicated that we would review any new information that was brought forward," said Mike Manko, a spokesman for the DA's office. "During the dependency hearing, another theory was advocated concerning the death of this infant, and we will look at that theory."

Mr. Manko said he did not know what led to Judge Clark's theory, and she could not be reached for comment last night.

Police will consult with the district attorney's office to determine how investigators will proceed with the case, Lt. Dan Herrmann said last night. He declined to comment on the judge's finding or on aspects of the case that led to her conclusion.

"That's what we have to ask the DA's office," he said. "Is the case closed, or do we go to a different plan?"

Marcia's parents, Rhonda Moore and DeJuan Poston, have said they are upset that no charges have been filed in their daughter's killing and believe aspects of the police investigation remain undone. Ms. Moore picketed Monday outside the Allegheny County Courthouse holding a photo of bruised Marcia.

Mr. Poston said yesterday that Judge Clark's conclusion was "good news," as he believes it will call attention to their case.

"We want to get to the bottom of this," he said. "We've been saying all along that there are a lot of questions that aren't answered. We need some explanation. That's the least we deserve."

Lt. Herrmann reiterated that police had not planned to file charges against the 7-year-old girl because she is too young.

The medical examiner's office has ruled that Marcia died of blunt force trauma to the head and called her death a homicide but declined last night to discuss further details of the autopsy report.

Mr. Poston, who said he has a copy of the report, also declined to discuss its contents. He said he and Ms. Moore have hired an attorney, whom he would not identify.

During their investigation, police said the 7-year-old girl had anger-management issues. She is the granddaughter of Loretta Bray, who operated the Dearborn Street day care, which has since shut down.

Ms. Bray had left the day care center to go to a pharmacy for medicine for the 7-year-old, who was home from school sick.

Police also have said detectives researched the day care's background and that of Ms. Swann, who was supervising five children the day Marcia died. She took a polygraph test, but police declined to disclose its findings.