Mother convicted for killing 5-yr-old daughter, dumps corpse in trash bin

isaac

April 28, 2015 4:47 PM

A mother in the United States has been jailed for beating her 5-year-old child and starving her to death.

Jerice Hunter

A 41-year-old Arizona woman, Jerice Hunter, was on Monday, April 27, 2015, convicted of abusing and killing her 5-year-old daughter, Jhessye Shockley, after she deprived the girl of food and water until she died, USA Today reports.

Hunter was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse of her child who prosecutors said was beaten, neglected and confined to a closet before being dumped in a trash bin in 2011.

After the verdict, the jury determined that four aggravating circumstances related to the child abuse charge had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

As a result, prosecutors said Hunter could face at least 35 years and up to life in prison when she is sentenced on June 5.

The disappearance of the girl had set off an intense search of landfills as officers picked through 9,500 tons of garbage over three months and subsequently, suspicion quickly turned to the mother after officers learned she had served four years in prison in California on child abuse charges and was released on parole in 2010.

After an intensive investigation, detectives zeroed in on her after police said bloodstains on the carpet of a closet and testimony from Hunter's teenage daughter showed the mother neglected and beat Jhessye.

Prosecutor Blaine Gadow told the jury:

"Where is Jhessye's body? We don't know. She got away with that. Don't let her get away with murder."

Another prosecutor, Jeannette Gallagher said Hunter knowingly misled the community by reporting her daughter was missing when she was already dead.

isaac