Mom charged in NJ toddler’s death to remain jailed until trial

BRIDGETON — A Cumberland County mother who allegedly told police she fatally struck her toddler son because he wouldn't "eat nor listen to her" will remain jailed until her murder trial.

A judge issued the ruling Tuesday during a court hearing that Nakira Griner was due to attend. But her lawyer said that appearing at the hearing would have been detrimental to Griner's health because she's suffering from a severe form of postpartum depression.

The 24-year-old Bridgeton woman is charged in the death of 23-month-old Daniel Griner Jr.

A criminal complaint in the case alleges Griner fabricated a story to police on Feb. 8 about her son being kidnapped, claiming she was attacked as she pushed Daniel in his stroller along Atlantic Avenue, with another infant son strapped to her body.

The complaint said police found the toddler's dismembered body buried under a shed in trash bags. They also found what investigators called the burnt remains of what had been likely a child in Nakira Griner's purse. Griner later admitted she hit the toddler hard enough to leave bruises, then left him alone in a stroller according to the complaint.

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