NJ Woman Murdered Son, Dismembered His Body, Jury Finds

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NJ — A South Jersey woman accused of killing her toddler son and burning his remains before telling police he'd been kidnapped has been found guilty of murder.

Nakira Griner, 28, of Bridgeton was charged with first-degree murder among other offenses in the 2019 death of her son Daniel Jr., who was 23 months old when he died. A Cumberland County jury found her guilty on all charges Wednesday, according to the prosecutor's office.

Griner was also convicted of 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. An autopsy concluded that Daniel had been beaten to death and had multiple bone fractures, the AP reported.

Griner's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 1:30 p.m. She faces a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office said.

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. She allegedly said Daniel "liked going with strangers" but she did not remember if she heard him screaming during the attack, according to the report.

However, police were unable to find any surveillance footage of the incident, 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.