US woman sentenced to death over stepdaughter’s torture killing
A woman in the US has been sentenced to death for killing her 10-year-old stepdaughter.
Tiffany Moss showed no reaction when a judge handed down the punishment for starving Emani to death and trying to get rid of the body.
Moss, who chose to represent herself in the trial, could be the third woman executed by the state, although an appointed lawyer is set to appeal.
Tiffany Moss was found guilty of murder, cruelty to children and trying to conceal the death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter Emani Moss by burning her body in a trash can in 2013. She was sentenced to death. AP/AAP
She sat silent for much of the trial, offering no defence as witness after witness gave chilling testimony about the child's torturous life.
“I can say that this was certainly one of the worst cases I've ever experienced factually,” District Attorney Danny Porter said.
After her death, Emani’s body was found burned in a trash can.
The young girl weighed just 14 kilograms at the time of her death.
Tiffany Moss has been sentenced to death over the torture killing and starvation of her four-year-old stepdaughter Emani. AAP
Robin Moss, Emani's grandmother, wept as details were revealed in court if the four-year-old's gruesome torture and death at the hands of her stepmother Tiffany Moss. AP/AAP
The court heard Emani was confined to her bedroom without food or water while her stepmother, father and two siblings got to eat. She was also covered in her own waste.
The young girl's father, Eman Moss, is currently serving a life sentence after making a plea deal and giving evidence against his wife.
Robin Moss, Emani’s paternal grandmother, agreed that the stepmother's death sentence was appropriate.
She testified in the trial and came to court every day to watch it unfold, hearing graphic testimony and often crying in the gallery.
“I just leave it all to God and he takes care of it all for me,” she said walking out of the courthouse.
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