A 5-year old girl was set ablaze after she asked her stepfather for something to eat. As reported by Fox News, 25-year-old Thomas McClellan of Michigan was sleeping when his 5-year-old stepdaughter woke him requesting something to eat. Arising abruptly from his nap, McClellan quickly transitioned from dreaming to instantaneous rage. Earlier in the day, he had been engaged in verbal hostility with Luna's mother, Victoria King. The two had just wed three-months prior but had been off to a shaky start.

Tragedy ensues: A child in flames

On November 1st, 2016 in Holt, a Lansing neighborhood, stepdaughter Luna King had knocked on McClellan's bedroom door requesting food.

The man asked Luna to get out of his room, following by attempting to push her out. When she resisted, dropping to the floor, he went into a frenzy, grabbing the girl and slamming her down on his bedroom floor. While atop her, he got out a pocket-knife, stabbing her in the chest between 5-9 times, per USA Today.

Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Elizabeth Allen said McClellan calmly covered her with a blanket, ran into an adjacent room to grab vodka, and poured the alcohol all over her body. Having no remorse to call 911, she noted he "didn't run out of his room bloody, scared, or panicked."

McClellan showered, stuffed belongings in a satchel, bought a new cell phone after discarding his, and made a trip to the local ATM before driving all over Lansing, stopping at Best Buy and McDonald's on his way to the motel.

He didn't use an alternative identity or fake identification when checking in.

Patrick Crowley, McClellan's defense attorney, contradictorily claimed his client acted "inefficient, panicked" and "haphazardly."

Police detective wants answers

McClellan has already admitted to the killing of the little girl, but police detective Charles Buckland couldn't comprehend the madness behind these actions - he wanted to know why.

"What was so awful about Luna today that required you to kill her," the detective questioned.

After a period of silence, 22-year-old Buckland asked a second time. "What'd she do, Tom?." "It tipped me over the edge. She gave me more attitude, "McClellan answered, referring to when Luna flopped down on his bedroom floor.

When asked what she did subsequent the stabbing, he responded, "she cried, and she coughed.

Not very long."

The trial verdict

Thomas McClellan was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse, and first-degree arson.

The defense argued during the trial that McClellan should face second-degree murder because the murder was not pre-meditated. Also, he shouldn't face child abuse charges.

"If there is a child sitting in front of me, and they're facing away from me," Crowley explained, "I walk up, and I shoot them in the back of the head, and I kill them instantly. Yes, I've clearly committed a killing, but have I committed a child abuse? Pursuant to Michigan law I have not."

Assistant Prosecutor Allen responded, "If you look at the circumstances surrounding this killing and ask when did the defendant premeditate, when did he reflect, when did he have a time to think twice?

Every step of the way. Because before he knocked to the ground a 40-pound 5-year-old girl, he had time to think."

Thomas McClellan was found guilty Friday, convicted on all original charges, and will spend the remainder of his days in prison, as Michigan does not inflict the death penalty.

Meanwhile, forever beloved Luna King will never get the chance to experience whatever existence had in store for her. She will not be able to continue the blissfulness of childhood, the trials, and tribulations of being a teenager, the gratification of overcoming those adverse years, or the serendipitous experiences of maturing into adulthood to understand the blessings of life.

All because "it wasn't dinner time."