MARIETTA - Statements that a juvenile made to police concerning the death of a 5-week old infant will be admitted in his trial, Juvenile Judge Gregory Poole ruled Thursday.

The juvenile is accused of killing his 5-week-old cousin, Millan Young, in the parking lot of a Target off Dallas Highway on July 4. His trial is scheduled to begin next month in Cobb Juvenile Court.

The juvenile's attorney, Derek Wright, requested the juvenile's statements made over the course of three police interviews be thrown out because his mother coerced him into talking to police.

The juvenile's mother, Camille Curtis, testified that her son was scared and didn't want to talk to police, but she told him to tell the truth. Curtis has a different last name than the juvenile.

"He said he wanted to go home. I told him there was nothing I could do. He had to tell the truth so we could leave," she said on the stand.

Poole said that he believed the mother was being a good parent when she told her son to be honest with police.

"I get the sense that the mother wanted to do what was right. I get the sense that the mother at some point in time that night said, 'We need to go down there, and you need to tell the police officers what happened,'" Poole said. "The mother said, 'You're going to tell the police officers the truth so we can go home.' I find that is a parent talking to her child as a parent would under those circumstances. That's a responsible parent in many aspects."

Cobb Officer Dennis Ryan, an investigator with the Crimes Against Children Unit, testified Thursday that all of the interviews with the juvenile were voluntary and approved by the boy's mother and aunt. Curtis requested the third and final police interview.

"She called and said the boy had something to tell us and wanted to meet with us again," Ryan said.

Ryan could not say exactly what the boy told police in the interviews, but indicated that the juvenile's testimony explained what happened on July 4.

Brittany Young, the juvenile's cousin, left her 5-week-old daughter in the car with him that day while she shopped at Target.

"He said the baby got fussy and he tried to comfort her in different manners," Ryan told the judge.

The baby was not breathing when Young returned to the car. The infant was taken to the hospital and died the next day. An autopsy by the medical examiner revealed that the infant girl died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Before one of the interviews, police talked to the juvenile about telling the truth and accidents.

"Accidents do happen. We can understand that accidents do happen and as long as you tell the truth, we can see what we can do. We asked him if an accident had happened, and he said no," Ryan said.

Late last month, Poole ordered the boy be moved to less-restrictive custody in DeKalb County. Before that, the juvenile was being held at the Cobb County Juvenile Detention Center.

The boy's trial will begin Oct. 7.