A mom has been convicted of murder and other crimes for allegedly killing her toddler son almost four years ago and told authorities he had been kidnapped before his remains were discovered buried in the yard of her New Jersey home.
Cumberland County prosecutors say 28-year-old Bridgeton resident Nakira Griner will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole next month. A jury found her guilty of first-degree murder, destruction of human remains, child endangerment, tampering with evidence, and false public alarm.
New Jersey Mom Guilty of Killing, Dismembering Son
She first informed police in February 2019 that she had been assaulted on the street and her 23-month-old son Daniel Griner Jr. had been taken, according to authorities.
The child's burned remains were discovered the next day in her front yard, and an examination revealed that he had been battered to death, according to investigators.
Prosecutors claim that Griner later told police that the kid fell down a flight of stairs in the family's house, but in phone conversations from jail, she admitted that she "done what she did to him" to conceal bruises on his body.
According to the criminal complaint, Griner ultimately told police she struck the kid because he refused to "eat or listen to her." According to the lawsuit, Griner confessed that she struck the youngster so violently that she left bruises on his face and that he tumbled down a flight of steps.
According to the station, after beating the boy, the woman placed him in a stroller and abandoned him. Defense counsel Jill Cohen conceded that her client mutilated and burnt the child's body but contended that prosecutors couldn't establish she was directly responsible for his murder and so could be convicted of nothing more than manslaughter.
Cohen stated that she will appeal the judgment. At the time of the occurrence, neighbors said they were stunned, CBS News reported. Griner was given a plea deal in October 2019. The prosecution offered thirty years in return for a guilty plea to the murder accusation. She rejected it and chose to go to trial instead.
Toddler's Dismembered Remains Burned in Oven
According to NJ.com, Griner's defense counsel stated in opening statements that the mother acknowledged burning and dismembering her son's body but denied willfully murdering the youngster.
In addition, according to expert evidence, the toddler's skull was fractured into 74 pieces and the corpse was burned in an oven. The trial was two weeks long.
Griner was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree desecrating human remains, fourth-degree tampering with evidence, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree false public alarm following the conclusion of the jury's deliberations on Wednesday. The sentence of Griner is expected on February 21.
Authorities searched the Woodland Drive residence of the family. Canine led detectives to the charred and mutilated remains of Daniel, which had been placed in his mother's purse and buried behind the shed in the backyard.
A prosecutor had stated that it was impossible to instantly determine what had happened to him due to his severe burns. The county medical examiner's autopsy determined that Daniel's death was a murder caused by blunt force trauma. Multiple fractures of the child's bones were also noticed in the report.
Per Law & Crime, prosecutors have stated that Griner made calls from jail in which she claimed that Daniel received his injuries by falling down the stairs and that she "did what she did to him" to cover up the marks on the boy's body. According to her counsel, Griner did not "deliberately and intentionally" cause Daniel's death.
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