A New Jersey woman has been found guilty of murdering and dismembering her 23-month-old son, documents showed.
Nakira M. Griner, 28, was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder and second-degree desecration of human remains in connection to the death of Daniel Griner Jr., the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office announced in a statement obtained by Law & Crime.
The Bridgerton resident was also convicted of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, fourth-degree tampering with evidence and second-degree false public alarm.
Nakira fatally beat her son, dismembered him and burned the remains, authorities said.
Police found Daniel's corpse buried in the yard of his mother's Woodland Drive home in February 2019.
An autopsy conducted by the county medical examiner concluded that the toddler's cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Nakira claimed her son had been abducted, but authorities dismissed the claim, 6 ABC reported.
She later admitted to hitting Daniel because he "would not eat nor listen to her," a criminal complaint read.
The mother also said during calls made from jail that Daniel sustained his injuries by falling down the stairs, and she "did what she did to him" to cover up bruises on the child's body, prosecutors said.
Nakira, who rejected a plea deal, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 21.
She may be sentenced to life in prison.
"As part of the deliberations, the jury also found the child victim was less than 14 years of age, an aggravating factor that would require the defendant face a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment without eligibility for parole," prosecutors said.
In a similar story, a 28-year-old Arkansan woman and her boyfriend were arrested after the former's 6-year-old son was found dead at a home three weeks ago.
The body of Ashley Roland's son was discovered buried below a hallway floor inside a Lee County home on Dec. 16, the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said.
His sister, also aged 6, was taken to the hospital for what were believed to be burns to her scalp.
Roland's son died from injuries that were possibly sustained in the home three months before his body was discovered, according to initial findings.
The mother has been charged with capital murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and endangering the welfare of a minor in connection to the discovery.
Her boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, faces the same charges.
