GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Opening statements were heard Wednesday morning in the trial of a Gwinnett County woman charged in the death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter.
Tiffany Moss is representing herself in her in the death penalty trial. Opening statements were Wednesday morning and Moss declined to deliver one.
The state called several witnesses in the first day of testimony but Tiffany Moss never cross examined.
She is charged in the brutal death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter Emani Moss in 2013. She and her husband Eman Moss are accused of starving the girl to death before burning her body and stuffing it into a plastic bag in an apartment trash can.
Emani Moss
In a plea deal, Eman Moss avoided the death penalty and now is in prison for life without the possibility of parole. Eman testified for more than an hour Thursday.
He painted a devastating picture of the last days of Emani's life and the desperate attempt to cover up what happened.
Several more witnesses took the stand during the afternoon including two crime scene investigators.
The most dramatic moment of the afternoon came when District Attorney Danny Porter brought out the trash can in which Emani’s body was found. At that time, Tiffany Moss lowered her head, pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a while. As the crime scene investigator testified about finding the trash can, Moss looked to the side and up at the ceiling looking anywhere but the front of the room where the trash can was. Behind her Emani’s paternal grandmother, who fought to get custody of the little girl before she died, held her head in her hands and seemed to wipe away tears.
The D.A. also introduced a video crime scene investigators took at the scene when they first arrived. It showed an immaculately clean apartment with one room that was outfitted to be a home school. There were 4 rules on the wall. The last one read: ‘Be happy.’
The only words Tiffany Moss uttered in court all day were 'No questions your honor' when asked if she wanted to cross examine any of the witnesses.
Moss refused a plea deal and is facing six counts of murder and concealing a death along with felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children.
If convicted, Tiffany Moss faces 3 possible sentences:
- Death penalty
- Life in prison without parole
- Life in prison with the possibility of parole
If sentenced to death, Moss would be just the third woman executed in Georgia. It’s her decision to represent herself that has caused some jurors to pause.