Death Sentence For GA Mom Who Starved Child To Death, Burned Body

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA -- A mother was sentenced to death and father sentenced to life in prison for their roles in starving their 10-year-old daughter to death and burning her body in a trash can.

Tiffany Moss was sentenced to death and Eman Moss received Life Without Parole at a trial that ended Tuesday.

On November 2, 2013, Eman Moss contacted the Gwinnett County Police Department to report that he was suicidal, and that he was with the body of his deceased 10 year-old daughter, Emani Moss, according to a press release. Eman Moss told police that his daughter had consumed some chemicals that caused her death. Unsure of what to do with his daughter’s body, he explained to officers that he placed her in a trash can and attempted to “cremate” her body.

Officers located a nearby galvanized steel trash can, and found the burned remains of a small child. Eman Moss advised officers that his wife, Tiffany Moss, had left the location with their two other children.

It was revealed at trial that Emani Moss had previously run away from home in July of 2013. The officers responding to that incident, found Emani sleeping in the bushes near the entrance of the apartment complex. Emani had earlier disclosed to a teacher that the bruising on her body was the result of a beating with a belt at the hands of her stepmother, Tiffany Moss.

Further investigation revealed that Tiffany Moss had been convicted of child cruelty against Emani in 2010, and received a probated sentence.

Interviews with Eman Moss gave the details of Emani’s death. Eman worked two jobs and his children were home-schooled by his wife, Tiffany. He said on Oct. 28, 2013, his wife called him at work and said Emani was “acting out and not doing her work,” and that Emani wouldn’t eat. When he arrived home, he said he found Emani not breathing and attempted CPR.

Rather than calling for medical assistance, he placed his daughter on her bed and discovered her dead the next day. Tiffany Moss advised Eman that they needed to burn the body to get rid of it, according to the release.

Emani’s body remained inside the bedroom until Eman bought a trash can at Walmart and attempted to burn the body in the early morning hours of November 1, 2013, using charcoal and lighter fluid. Eman was only able to fit his daughter’s stiffened body into the trash can by “cracking” her limbs. When the fire failed to consume Emani’s body, the trash can was placed back in Eman’s truck.

Tiffany Moss advised that they needed to dispose of the body elsewhere. When Eman began to doubt Tifffany’s plan, he told her that he was going to call the police. Tiffany took their other two kids and left the house.

Medical examination of the remains found inside the trash can revealed that it was the body of 10 year-old Emani Moss. An autopsy by the medical examiner further found that Emani was not poisoned; rather she had been starved to death. Emani was emaciated and weighed 32 pounds and her spleen and liver were 50 percent the size of a thriving 10 year-old. Her body had been duct-taped prior to being set afire.

Eman Moss was represented by counsel and entered a guilty plea to all charges. He received a
sentence of life without parole. He was called as a witness by the State and testified that Tiffany
Moss mistreated Emani by beating and starving her.

Tiffany Moss was originally appointed counsel from the Office of the Capital Defender when the State of Georgia announced its intention to seek the death penalty.

Subsequently, the she decided to serve as her own counsel. Despite repeated admonitions from the trial judge and hearings to decide the issue, her request was granted. Her appointed counsel served only as “standby counsel.” While she posed questions to potential jurors during jury selection, she chose to give no opening statement, posed no questions to witnesses, called no witnesses, and chose not to give a closing argument.

She was convicted of all charges: murder, felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, and concealing the death of another.

The jury set Tiffany Moss’ sentence at death.