NJ Mother Sentenced To Life For Murdering Toddler Son: Officials

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NJ — A Bridgeton woman will spend life in prison after being found guilty of murdering her 23-month-old son and burning his remains, officials said.

A Cumberland County judge sentenced 28-year-old Nakira Griner to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, said Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae.

Officials said Griner reported her 23-month-old son Daniel missing on Feb. 8, 2019. Police led a massive search, and found the child's desecrated body in Griner's yard on Woodland Drive.

An autopsy concluded that Daniel had been beaten to death and had multiple bone fractures, the Associated Press reported.

In January, a Cumberland County jury found her guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree desecration of human remains, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, fourth-degree tampering with evidence, and second-degree false alarm according to the prosecutor's office.

Prosecutors offered Griner a plea deal in exchange for a 30-year sentence, which she declined in favor of a trial in October 2021.

Judge George Gangloff sentenced her to life in prison on the count of first-degree murder, and an additional consecutive seven years for the count of desecration of human remains.

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Officials lead a massive search for the child in February 2019 after Griner told them that someone had attacked her in the street and kidnapped Daniel while she was walking him in a stroller.

Griner said her assailant kicked her, and she fell to the ground as the attacker continued to kick her in the head, according to nj.com. When she looked up, the stroller and Daniel were gone, she told police.

Police ultimately found the stroller, containing only a pair of red sneakers, a few blocks away from the alleged attack scene on Devonshire Place, according to NJ.com. Griner reportedly said Daniel "liked going with strangers" but she did not remember if she heard him screaming during the attack, according to the report.

Police were unable to find any surveillance footage of the incident, however, and Griner failed a polygraph test that she agreed to take. She later told police that the child accidentally fell down a flight of stairs in the family home, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Officials found Daniel's burned and dismembered remains several hours later, buried under the shed of her Woodland Drive home in a purse and trash bags according to the Asbury Park Press.

Griner told police she grew frustrated at Daniel for not listening to her, and struck him so hard it bruised his face, and he fell down the steps. She then put him in a stroller and left him alone, NJ.com reported at the time.