N.J. mom charged with killing her child, burning remains rejects plea offer and will face trial – NJ.com

A mother charged with murder in the killing, burning and dismembering of her young child has rejected a plea offer and will face trial.

Nakira M. Griner, 27, of Bridgeton, is accused in the 2019 death of 23-month-old Daniel Griner Jr.

She initially reported the child abducted during a trip to the store, but later told police he accidentally fell down a flight of stairs in the family home. She insisted she left the injured child alone and alive in his stroller on a Bridgeton street in hopes that someone would find and help him.

Griner said she feared she would be blamed for his injuries.

She also admitted that she struck the child after he refused to eat his breakfast, according to her criminal complaint, and that she struck him hard enough to leave bruises on his face.

The child’s burned and dismembered remains were found at the family’s home hours after Griner reported the abduction.

She appeared in court Friday for a pre-trial conference during which the allegations were summarized and the prosecution described its plea offer in which Griner would serve 30 years in prison in return for a guilty plea on the murder charge.

She declined that plea offer in favor of trial.

Griner, who appeared by video from jail, offered brief responses to questions posed by Superior Court Judge George H. Gangloff Jr.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Vogelsong-Parvin outlined the allegations against Griner, who was indicted in 2019 on charges of first-degree murder, disturbing or desecrating human remains (second-degree), tampering with evidence (fourth-degree), endangering the welfare of a child (second-degree) and false public alarm (second-degree).

Griner called 911 around 6:30 p.m. on Feb 8, 2019, reporting that she was attacked and knocked to the ground while walking to the store with Daniel in a stroller and her infant child strapped to her chest, authorities have said.

She claimed her assailants took Daniel, authorities said. Police quickly launched a search, but the woman’s story soon changed, ultimately leading them to search the Griner property and make the grisly discovery of remains.

An autopsy concluded that Daniel died of blunt force trauma and that he suffered multiple bone fractures. The death was ruled a homicide.

The prosecution offered details Friday about what Griner’s husband knew of the situation.

Daniel Griner Sr. works as a registered nurse at a hospital and told police he returned home at 7:30 p.m. the day before his wife reported the disappearance.

His wife told him the kids were already asleep and that she didn’t want him to go into their room and risk waking them, Vogelsong-Parvin stated during Friday’s hearing. He told police this was earlier than Daniel Jr.’s usual bedtime.

The next day, the day his son was reported missing, he spoke with his wife via FaceTime during his lunch break and she told him the kids were napping, the prosecutor said.

In phone calls Griner made from jail, she allegedly claimed Daniel fell down steps and that she “did what she did to him” to cover up bruising on his body, Vogelsong-Parvin said.

The prosecution plans to present those calls at trial.

The defendant’s attorney, Jill Cohen, stated 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 seeking to try the murder charge separately from the other counts, but that motion was later withdrawn.

The judge set a trial date of Jan. 10, 2022.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.