The Detroit mother who stabbed her daughter to death received a minimum of 23 years in prison for the murder on Monday.
Semeria Greene, 27, stood before the court this morning after pleading guilty last month to second-degree murder for fatally wounding her daughter Tameria in front of one of her 4-year-old son.
Greene told the court Monday, “I’m sorry for the accident, the mistake that I made. I miss my daughter” before a judge handed down a sentence of 23 to 50 years in prison as a part of a plea agreement that avoided the case going to trial. Greene also pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse.
The Department of Human Services presented evidence during the trial that Greene’s 4-year-old son witnessed the December 30, 2012 murder. He told officials his mother “had a big knife and cut his sister and his mother killed Ti-Ti.” According to police, Greene was uncooperative upon arriving at the scene and discovered a bloody knife in the family’s east-side apartment.
Further evidence shows that the Department of Human Services previously tried to remove Greene from the family household. A mediator in the case advised that the mother should move out or move the children to another household. The request was denied and she killed her daughter five weeks later.
In January, the children’s father filed for custody of Greene’s four other children, who are currently being held in protective custody by the state. Court hearings throughout the year will determine if the boys will be sent to foster care or their father.