Photo Courtesy of Cobb County News / Twitter
A Georgia court sentenced a mother to life in prison after beating her ill 5-year-old daughter to death, the Atlanta Journal-Consitution reported.
The brutal attack happened on Feb. 10, 2020. Shekinah Ayesha Akbar, 33, who told investigators that her daughter had “evil spirits,” pled guilty but mentally ill to the felony murder and cruelty to children on Monday. The sick mentality plea was thrown out, and Akbar was sentenced to life later.
“This beautiful little girl was brutally tortured, bitten and abused for upwards of 12 hours by the one person in the world who is supposed to love her unconditionally and protect her at all costs,” Stephanie Green, Senior Assistant District Attorney, said during the plea hearing. “It is unfathomable the betrayal she must’ve felt.”
Akbar was the one who called the police after her daughter died from her beating, but she pinned it on her neighbors. She said the neighbors had beaten them both and locked them in the bathroom for hours.
When the police and emergency personnel arrived at Akbar’s Cumberland Crossing apartment, they discovered the nameless child lifeless and her tracheotomy tube removed.
Police arrested Akbar and noted in the arrest warrant that the child had bruises and injuries all over her body and face, including bite marks. She was indicted in 2021 on several charges, including murder, aggravated assault, two counts of sexual battery and first-degree cruelty to children.
When questioned by police, Akbar told them she was “performing an exorcism,” according to Cobb County District Attorney. She told detectives she was casting out evil spirits, admitting to biting and hitting her child, but she denied causing much harm to the point of death.