Dad of girl found burned in trash pleads guilty to murder

ATLANTA — The father of a 10-year-old girl whose lifeless body was found burned in the trash can of a suburban Atlanta apartment complex in 2013 pleaded guilty to murder on Monday, prosecutors said.

Eman Moss, 32, also agreed to testify against the stepmother of the child, who had died of starvation before she was placed in the trash, said Lisa Jones, deputy chief district attorney of Gwinnett County.

Emani Moss weighed only 32 pounds at the time of her death, according to police reports. Her father and stepmother were accused of trying to burn the body to cover up her death.

Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty against Eman Moss but agreed to recommend life without parole if he pleaded guilty, Jones said. His will sentenced in four to six weeks.

The stepmother, Tiffany Moss, still faces the death penalty, Jones said.

Eman Moss called 911 to say he was suicidal and that there was a dead body with him, police said. He told police that his daughter had ingested a chemical and died, but authorities later determined she died of malnutrition, Jones said.

When officers arrived at Moss’s apartment complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the father pointed to a trash can in a recreation area where the body was found, police said.

Eman Moss’s attorney, Christian Lamar, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

“Mr. Moss loves his daughter,” Lamar told Atlanta’s Fox affiliate, WAGA-TV. “After discussing the strength of the case against him, and also just what was the best thing that he wanted to do, this is where we came out.”