MIAMI – Opening statements began Thursday in the Miami-Dade murder trial of a woman accused of abusing her adopted children, one of whom died under her care.
Gina Emmanuel, then 50, was arrested in October 2019. Authorities said the abuse happened at her northeast Miami-Dade home at 19940 W. Dixie Highway.
The now-56-year-old former registered nurse is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse aggravated with great bodily harm and torture.
A prosecutor said, “You will learn through this trial about the defendant’s control.”
Prosecutors allege she subjected her three daughters, aged 5, 7 and 12, to severe abuse, including malnourishment, physical punishment and denial of medical care, leading to the death of the 7-year-old Samaya.
“You’ll hear she kept her refrigerator chained,” the prosecutor told jurors. “These three girls were forced to urinate and defecate in a bucket. They were malnourished, whipped and didn’t see a pediatrician.”
Emmanuel fostered the children before adopting them.
The state contends that Samaya’s death was the logical result of Emmanuel’s sustained abuse. “What else was gonna happen as a result of the choices she made?” the prosecutor questioned.
The defense countered, “Yes, there was punishment, but it was reasonable corporal punishment allowed by law, not child abuse.”
Emmanuel’s defense argued that the abuse was not entirely her fault and that she couldn’t have known how sick Samaya really was.
“Should she have taken the child to the hospital? Yes, absolutely, but it wasn’t murder. It was not child abuse,” her attorney said.
In March, Emmanuel rejected a plea offer that would have sent her to prison for 25 years.
Now she’s on trial for first-degree murder, which means she’ll face life in prison if convicted.