New York, Feb 2 (IANS): Two sisters in the US city of Atlanta have been charged over the killing of a three-year-old boy whose only crime, police said, was taking a cupcake.

Kejuan Mason had sneaked the cupcake from the kitchen while at home with Glenndria and Lashirley Morris, the BBC quoted the police as saying.

According to the indictment, Lashirley then beat the child with a baseball bat while her sister Glenndria, his legal guardian, spanked him with her hand.

The child died of blunt force trauma to his head and his torso, a hospital official said.

The Morris sisters had given conflicting accounts of what happened on October 31, 2017, initially claiming he had choked on the cupcake, the media reports of the time quoted the police sources as saying.

The sisters were charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault and two counts of cruelty in the first-degree. They face life in prison without parole if found guilty.

According to reports, the child's mother had lost custody of her son when she lost her home, but she was attempting to get him back.

She had even asked a judge to remove Mason from Glenndria's care when she noticed he had scratches and bruises, but her request was denied three days before the child died, a newspaper report said.