South MS couple gets life in prison in infant’s ‘horrific’ death by starvation
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- Parents pleaded guilty to capital murder after their 6‑month‑old died of starvation
- Judge imposed life without parole plus five years following guilty pleas
- Authorities found a deplorable home; older sibling placed in CPS custody
The mother and father of 6-month-old child are headed to prison for life for the starvation death of their daughter, Kiari, who was found covered in fleas and feces when they took her to a hospital for treatment, according to Pearl River County District Attorney Hall Kittrell.
Takoka Jordan Miller, 27, of Gulfport, and Kendra Makayla Beck, 24, of Poplarville, pleaded guilty to capital murder and child neglect in the child’s Oct. 7, 2021, death of their daughter.
Judge Brad Touchstone imposed the sentence of life without parole plus five years.
An investigation began after authorities received a 911 call for medical assistance for the child who was severely emaciated, according to authorities.
The child died at a hospital a day after she was brought to the hospital for treatment.
“There are no words to describe the horrors of this case and what these two children endured inside their home,” Kittrell said. “This case is so horrific that everyone involved — law enforcement, medical personnel, crime lab analysts, and witnesses — has been haunted by it since 2021.
“A child’s life is precious, and in Kiari’s short life, she was met with parents who failed to meet her most basic human need. That her sister survived and is now a happy, healthy child is a miracle.”
Authorities found the couple’s home filled with trash, calling the scene inside “deplorable and inhumane.”
In addition to Kiari, authorities found the couples 18-month-old daughter in a bloodied sheet in a broken crib and covered lice and feces.
Both parents erroneously claimed they fed the children properly, Kitrell said.
The older child was placed in the custody of Child Protection Services.
“The individuals who neglected them will now spend the rest of their lives in prison without parole,” Kitrell said. “While no sentence can fully account for the suffering these children endured, this outcome brings some measure of healing to the community that rallied around them,” the district attorney said.
Prosecutors commended the Poplarville Police Department and the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department for their work on the case.
We are grateful for the work of the Poplarville Police Department and the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.”