A woman was found guilty of killing her 23-month-old son and then telling police he had been kidnapped before his remains were found buried in the yard of her New Jersey home.
After a two week trial, Nakira Griner, 28, of Bridgeton, was found guilty on Wednesday of 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Desecration of Human Remains, 2nd Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, 4th Degree Tampering with Evidence and 2nd Degree False Public Alarm.
On February 8, 2019, Griner told police she had been attacked on the street and her 23-month-old son Daniel Griner Jr. had been abducted. An intensive search began and the child’s burnt remains were found in the yard of Griner's home later that night. An autopsy concluded that the child had been beaten to death and had multiple bone fractures.
After claiming an abduction, Griner later told police that the child accidentally fell down a flight of stairs in the family home, authorities said. Prosecutors allege that she said in phone calls from jail — which were presented at trial — that she “did what she did to him” to cover up bruising on his body.
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Defense attorney Jill Cohen said in an earlier court filing that her client didn’t deny destroying the child’s remains but didn’t “knowingly and purposefully” cause his death. Those assertions were made in a motion, later withdrawn, seeking to try the murder charge separately from the other counts.
A judge later barred prosecutors from using Griner's earlier statements to police, saying she was not read her rights. Her attorney at the time argued that she was considered a suspect from the start and was also “going through a crisis and a clear mental break” and was in no position to voluntarily waive her rights.
Griner's sentencing is scheduled for February 21.
