FERGUS FALLS, MINN. - A 13-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a 2-year-old girl whom he allegedly assaulted in the home of a day care provider a week ago. She died of a head injury.

"What happened to her would take one huge blow," Assistant Otter Tail County Attorney Michelle Eldien said on Thursday, adding that she could not say whether the girl was hit more than once.

A poster board with photos of the smiling little girl was displayed at the Olson Funeral Home on Thursday afternoon, as family and friends gathered to grieve the death of Emily Lynn Johnson.

"It's a pall over the whole town," said Guy Olson, the funeral director.

Law enforcement authorities received a 911 call about 3:30 p.m. June 16 that the 2-year-old was lying in a bedroom where she had been put down for a nap.

She was breathing but unresponsive in the day care.

She died Saturday at MeritCare Children's Hospital in Fargo, N.D.

The 13-year-old boy was interviewed by detectives, said Otter Tail County Sheriff Brian Schlueter, who declined to give details about the incident, the boy's name or his connection to the day care provider.

Eldien said that because the boy is 13, rather than 14, he can be tried only as a juvenile under state law.

If he were convicted, he could be imprisoned or institutionalized, but he would have to be released at 19.

"This is about a culpable negligence, with a reasonable likelihood of death to another person," she said.

Asked whether the death was an accident, she said, "He had some intent. He knew that there was a risk of the child's death, or he should have known. In that sense it was not an accident. There was definitely an assault."

She said details of the incident could not be made public because the suspect is a juvenile.

The boy was arrested Wednesday and made his first appearance in juvenile court Thursday. He remained in custody at a Moorhead, Minn., juvenile detention center.

David Hauser, Otter Tail county attorney, said he could not discuss this particular case. But in general, Hauser said, if a juvenile pleads guilty, he would be sentenced, and if the juvenile denies the charges, a trial would be held.

According to state Department of Human Services and Otter Tail County records, the day care run by Deborah Koenig has been licensed for 15 years and has never had its license suspended or revoked. It is licensed to handle 14 children.

In that time, officials have investigated three complaints about supervision, in 1991, 1999 and 2001. Only the 1999 complaint was substantiated.

Authorities closed the day care provider Monday.