Texas Father Cleared of Killing 2-Year-Old Daughter After 7-Year-Old Son Confesses to Crime

On Thursday, a Texas father was cleared of a murder charge in the asphyxiation death of his 2-year-old daughter after prosecutors learned that his 7-year-old son admitted being responsible, PEOPLE confirms.

The capital murder charge against Anthony Michael Sanders was dismissed, a spokeswoman from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office tells PEOPLE. According to NBC 4, Sanders’ son said that when he was 5 years old, he rolled a heavy pillow onto his sister Ellie’s face and couldn’t remove it.

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The boy had previously told investigators he hadn’t shared this information earlier because he was “afraid that he would get in trouble” reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In April 2016, when Sanders was initially charged, Watauga Police Sgt. Jason Babcock said authorities thought Sanders’ may have killed Ellie after she interrupted his computer game.  

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Sanders’ defense attorney Tim Moore described his client as being “elated” that the charge had been dropped, adding that “he has denied it from the beginning,” according to NBC 4.

He went on to add that Sanders will not face any new charges, although a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office told PEOPLE they could not confirm this because the case is still pending.