A former registered nurse and foster mother, aged 56, from South Florida has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of her 7-year-old adopted daughter. Gina Emmanuel was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder for the 2018 death of Samaya Emmanuel, according to court documents. The jury also convicted Emmanuel on two counts of aggravated child abuse related to the treatment of Samaya’s siblings, who were 5 and 12 years old at the time.
The verdict in Emmanuel’s trial exposed the horrific abuse Samaya and her siblings endured before her death, said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. She expressed disbelief that a trained nurse could inflict such cruelty on her adopted children, using torture and starvation as a form of discipline. The jury recognized that Emmanuel’s neglect led to Samaya’s death.
Emmanuel’s abusive actions included forcing the children to consume human waste, intentionally burning them on the stove, chaining them to chairs, physically assaulting them, and withholding food and water, according to a report by Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ.
Emmanuel’s eldest adopted daughter, now 18, gave a heart-wrenching testimony during the three-day trial, recounting the atrocities she and her sisters suffered at the hands of their foster mother. The young woman’s bravery in testifying was commended by Rundle, who also praised the prosecution team for their excellent work in presenting the disturbing evidence to the court and the jury.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that Emmanuel was obsessed with controlling every aspect of her daughters’ lives, enforcing her rules through severe abuse, as reported by Miami ABC affiliate WPLG. The prosecution’s opening statements highlighted the defendant’s control, including chaining her refrigerator and forcing the girls to use a bucket for their bodily functions. The girls were malnourished, whipped, and denied medical care.
Emmanuel’s defense attorney argued that her actions constituted “reasonable corporal punishment” and did not amount to child abuse. The attorney suggested that Samaya’s death was primarily due to untreated diabetes. However, the jury disagreed, and Emmanuel is set to appear in court for her sentencing hearing on April 30. She faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.