Miami-Dade County, FL – A former registered nurse and foster mother has been found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and aggravated child abuse after subjecting her three adopted daughters to unimaginable abuse and torture, resulting in the 2018 death of 7-year-old Samaya Emmanuel.
A jury returned the verdict on Tuesday, concluding the trial of 56-year-old Gina Emmanuel, who will now likely spend the rest of her life in prison.
The court found that Emmanuel not only starved, beat, and tortured Samaya to death but also inflicted ongoing physical and emotional abuse on Samaya’s two sisters, who were just 5 and 12 years old at the time.
A House of Horror Hidden in Plain Sight
Emmanuel was initially entrusted with the care of the three children as a foster parent, later adopting them. But behind closed doors, prosecutors say her household became a nightmarish environment of strict control, suffering, and cruelty.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement:
“No one could ever imagine that a trained nurse would beat, torture, and starve Samaya and her two adopted sisters as a means of instilling discipline… The jury fully understood that she ultimately ignored the suffering of young Samaya which led to this child’s death.”
Heartbreaking Testimony from Surviving Sister
During the trial, which spanned three days, now-18-year-old Samaya’s surviving sister delivered emotional testimony detailing the systematic abuse they endured.
“She would chain us, she would have us lay down, she would chain us and lock us until she got back,” the sister told the jury.
According to court documents and testimony, the girls were forced to eat human feces, burned on a stove, chained to chairs, and denied food and water. The refrigerator was kept locked, and the girls were made to urinate and defecate in a bucket, prosecutors said.
Defense Argument Rejected
Emmanuel’s defense attorney claimed that the punishment administered was “reasonable corporal discipline” and argued that Samaya’s death was due to untreated diabetes, not abuse.
“Should she have taken the child to the hospital? Yes, absolutely, but it wasn’t murder,” the attorney told jurors. “It was not child abuse.”
The jury disagreed, delivering a guilty verdict that reflects the gravity and cruelty of Emmanuel’s actions.
Life Sentence Looms
Emmanuel is scheduled to appear again in court on April 30 for formal sentencing. Under Florida law, a conviction of first-degree premeditated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
Assistant State Attorneys Cristina Diamond and Kristen Rodriguez led the prosecution, earning praise for their work in presenting disturbing yet vital evidence that secured the conviction.
State Attorney Rundle also commended the bravery of Samaya’s sister:
“One should admire the courage it took for Samaya’s sister, 12-years-old at the time of the abuse, to come forward and testify… in order for the truth to be told.”