45 Years In Jail For N.J. Mother Who Starved Daughter To Death

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A young, Essex County mother was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Tuesday after starving her eight-year-old daughter to death in 2011, reports say.

Krisla Rezireksyon Kris, 34, of Irvington, made a “tearful plea in court for mercy,” saying she was influenced by her religion while raising her three kids, ABC News stated.

"From the time my children were born I became a devoted single mother," she reportedly said. "My children are everything to me and I love them very much. I was focused on working towards providing a good life for them."

An Essex County jury previously convicted Kris for contributing to the death of her daughter, Christiana Glenn, who was found dead in Kris’ Chancellor Avenue apartment in May of 2011.

• See related article: Young NJ Mother Starved Daughter, 8, To Death

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Glenn died of starvation and an untreated, broken femur bone.

The jury also convicted Kris of multiple counts of endangering the welfare of her two other children - a six-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl - who were beaten and denied food but ultimately survived, prosecutors stated.

Prosecutors allege that Kris – whose birth name was Venette Ovilde - withheld food from all three children, physically assaulted them, tied them to a radiator, forced them to kneel on salt with heavy objects on their heads, withheld medical care and left them home alone for extended periods of time.

In addition to the aggravated manslaughter charge, Kris was found guilty of 16 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of aggravated assault.

Kris’s attorneys had argued that their client – who allegedly suffers from “diminished capacity” and has an IQ score of 67 – was following the suggestions of a local Christian pastor who took advantage of her “vulnerable” nature, NJ.com reported.

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