A woman convicted last month of killing her toddler son and telling police he had been kidnapped has been sentence dto life in prison without parole.
Nakira Griner, 28, was convicted on charges of first degree murder, desecration of remains, evidence-tampering, and false public alarm in the February 2019 death of 23-month-old Daniel Griner Jr., as CrimeOnline previously reported. She had previously rejected a plea deal that would have sent her to prison for 30 years, opting instead to go to trial.
Griner told police that she had been attacked on the street and that her toddler son had been abducted. Investigators launched an immediate search and found the toddler’s stroller, empty except for his shoes a few blocks away from where the alleged attack took place.
But Griner began changing her story, prompting police to search her Bridgerton home. They found the boy’s body in a shed in the yard.
Griner then told investigators that the boy had fallen down a flight of stairs and that she left the boy alone and alive in his stroller “because she wanted someone to find him and help him because no one would believe her.” She later admitted hitting the boy because he wouldn’t “eat nor listen to her” — hard enough to cause bruises and knock him down the stairs.
Family members spoke at the sentencing hearing this week, telling the court that Daniel’s mother was selfish and uncaring, more interested in being a YouTube personality than taking care of her son, WTXF reported.
“He was my precious grandson … such a sweet child and you stole him away from me,” said Patricia Uhland, Daniel’s paternal grandmother. “You had no thought of how your actions would destroy our entire world. You’re a monster.”
“Our family has lost so much that we will never get back,” Daniel’s cousin, Gabrielle Nutt, saidy. “Strangers have wept for our Daniel, but not his own mother. Not one tear.”
Superior Court Judge George Gangloff Jr. said what Griner did was “beyond comprehension.”
“You shattered his skull into dozens of pieces, you fractured his ribs, then after his death you put his remains in an oven and cooked, baked or incinerated him,” Gangloff said. “Whatever verb you choose, they’re all equally horrible.”
Gangloff noted Griner’s YouTube aspirations, saying she had been convinced she’d one day get the attention she craved “but you didn’t think it was going to be like this.”
Griner’s defense attorney, Jill Cohen, said she intends to appeal the conviction.
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[Featured image: Nakira Griner and Daniel Griner Jr/handouts]
