Georgia woman found guilty of beating, starving and burning 10-year-old stepdaughter

The trial, for which Moss is facing the death penalty, began Wednesday with Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter’s opening argument, followed by testimony from 18 witnesses he and Assistant District Attorney Lisa Jones called to the stand.

Moss waived an opening statement completely — when Gwinnett County Superior Court Chief Judge George Hutchinson asked her on Wednesday if she would give one once the defense had rested, Moss answered with a short, “No, your honor” — and continued in the same vein for the remainder of the trial.

Jones presented the state’s closing arguments Monday morning, during which she took the jury back through witness testimony, re-telling the story of Emani’s life and ultimate death.

She reminded the jury of how Moss saw Emani — “Emani was nothing; she was a nuisance, she was ugly, she was nothing. She was a pain, she was disposable, she was trash,” Jones said — then she emphasized who Emani really was.

“She was a child and she was a granddaughter and she was a niece and she was a friend to kids who needed one,” Jones said. “She was a student who brought joy to a teacher; she was a daughter. She was Emani. She was Emani, and she mattered.”

The trial will now go to the penalty phase, where the jury will hear from prosecution, and Moss if she so chooses, to determine what sentence to give the 35-year-old.

The jury’s options are life with the possibility of parole, life without parole and death by lethal injection.