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PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man accused of slamming his fiancée's 8-year-old son onto the floor for not cleaning his room has been ordered to stand trial in the boy's death.
Thirty-eight-year-old Orlando Williams is charged in Pennsylvania with homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment in the June death of JonMarquis Stepich.
Authorities allege Williams had been drinking and tripped over a laundry basket in the boy's room. They said he then angrily tried to slam the boy onto the edge of his bed but missed and the boy fell to the floor.
Defense attorney Anne Marie Mancuso argued that the evidence presented wouldn't support a charge more serious than involuntary manslaughter. She said Williams had acted as a "father figure" to the child for years and was "inconsolable" over his death.
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