An Oklahoma grandmother received three life sentences after she dressed up as a witch to terrorize her granddaughter. Prosecutors also found out that she did other abusive things to her granddaughter.
The grandmother, 51-year-old Geneva Robinson, severely abused her 7-year-old granddaughter. Her 33-year-old boyfriend, Joshua Granger, also faced a 30-year sentence for having knowledge of the abuse. He pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect charges. Both of them faced a total of 29 counts of felony child abuse and neglect, People reported.
Prosecutors and investigators found out that Robinson assaulted and abused her granddaughter for more than a year. Aside from terrorizing her while dressing up as a witch, she also burned the girl with cigarettes, smacked the child's face and beat her granddaughter with a rolling pin.
Robinson also removed her granddaughter from school and sometimes did not give her food. The grandmother also forced the child to sleep outside with the dogs.
Accordingly, whenever she abused the child, she painted her skin green, dressed in black and assumed the persona of Nelda the Witch. In one of the videos that authorities made public, Nelda the Witch grabbed the child by the throat and dragged her across the floor.
The investigation on the incident dated back in 2014. Workers at the Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma said Robinson tried to send her granddaughter to the institution because she claimed she could not control the girl.
The girl then told investigators her grandmother whipped, pinched and beat her regularly and sometimes, with the use of pliers. She also told the authorities that her grandmother had a pink leash that she used to tie her up into the ceiling.
The defense team said Robinson had an abusive childhood that is why she did not have good parenting skills. Robinson reportedly used the persona Nelda the Witch to other people as well such as the girl's father.
There are three million reports of child abuse each year, as per FindLaw. It involves six million children and four to five kids are killed every day due to abuse or neglect.
Meanwhile, the abused victim, who is now nine-years-old, wrote a letter to Robinson that was read in court. Despite the ordeal she went through, the girl told her grandmother that she loves her and forgave her. She even called Robinson the best grandmother she ever had. It remained unknown where the child stays now.
