BERWICK -- Michael Crimi was charged with killing his girlfriend’s toddler in Berwick Thursday.
He was arrested in Florida last month and just returned to Pennsylvania by detectives.
On his way into and out of district court in Berwick, he refused to answer questions.
He's accused of the November beating death of 3-year old Isabella Brown.
Crimi lived with Brown and her mother in an apartment on Freas Avenue in Berwick.
"Child abuse is something I’m totally against. The laws are not strict enough, if it was up to me, I'd like to take him over to the middle east and we'd stone him to death, if he's guilty, if he's guilty,” said Dana Race who lived across the street from Crimi and Brown.
Police say they found the unresponsive child in her mother's Berwick apartment in November.
Crimi lived there and regularly watched the little girl when her mother worked.
According to court papers, Crimi told them she had hit her head on the bathtub a few days before, but an examination at the hospital told a different story, including bruising to both sides of her head, 40 bruises on her body, multiple abrasions, hemorrhages in her eyes, and brain swelling.
The coroner ruled Isabella died from blunt force trauma.
"If this is the case that she was being abused that bad, thank God God took her because she's in better hands,” said one neighbor who did not want to be identified.
After the little girl's death, Crimi left with family for Florida.
He was arrested there and just brought back to Columbia County to face the latest charges.
"I don't know why he ever thought he could run and hide and think he could get away with it, people like that, I feel they should have the same done to them,” said the neighbor.