In frantic 911 calls, a New Jersey mother charged with killing her baby can be heard telling a dispatcher that she was assaulted and fell on top of the boy while on a walk.
Prosecutors say Nakira Griner, 24, at first told police the 23-month old child was abducted the night of Friday, Feb. 8. Hours later, authorities say they found Daniel Griner Jr.'s dismembered body in a purse under a shed in the yard of the woman's Bridgeton home.
In separate calls with 911, Griner weeps and screams as she tells the dispatcher on the other end of the line that someone beat her while walking to a Walgreens store.
In the series of calls, which total about 4 minutes long, Griner sounds distraught, often becoming unintelligible as she sobs. Early on, she tells the 911 operator that she's "hiding."
As the operator attempts to gather more information, he tries to calm the woman down.
"Listen, I'm really trying to understand you, but it's really difficult while you're crying," he says." "Try to take a deep breath, slow your breathing down and tell me what's going on so I can help you."
Later, she tells the operator that, "My head hurts and my side hurts." "Were you jumped?" he responds.
"He pushed me on the ground and kicked me," Griner wails as she describes the supposed assailant.
The operator then asks if the baby is injured. "I fell on top of him," she screams.
In the background, a child can be heard crying, though it is unclear if that child was Daniel.
By that point, Griner says she can see officers arriving at the scene.
"Is he unconscious?" the operator asks, to a response consisting of sobs. "And you fell on his head, ma'am?" the operator continues.
More sobs follow before the line cuts off.
Prosecutors say Griner went on to tell police her son had been abducted during the supposed attack, sparking a multiagency manhunt that included New Jersey Park Police bloodhounds.
Shortly before 3 a.m. the next morning, however, police found the boy's burned and dismembered body in the woman's yard.
That's when authorities say Griner admitted to hitting the boy so hard that she left bruises on his face because he wouldn't eat or listen to her. Prosecutors say the woman also told police that the boy fell down a set of stairs and that after hitting him, she put him in a stroller and left him alone instead of immediately calling for help.
In addition to 1st-degree murder, Griner faces 2nd-degree endangering the welfare of a child, 2nd-degree desecration of human remains and fourth degree tampering with evidence charges.
