Parents who starved 5-year-old daughter to death get life in prison

BEND, Ore. -- Parents who starved their 5-year-old daughter to death have been sentenced to life in prison.

The Bulletin reports 33-year-old Sacora Horn-Garcia and 35-year-old Estevan Garcia were sentenced Monday in Deschutes County Circuit Court in the 2016 death of Maliyha Hope Garcia.

The couple was found guilty by a jury of murder by abuse and criminal mistreatment after a weekslong trial. They’ll be eligible for parole in 25 years.

Maliyha was adopted by the couple shortly after the girl was born and tested positive for methamphetamines. She weighed 24 pounds at the time of her death.

Garcia expressed regret but stopped short of admitting intentionally starving his daughter. Horn-Garcia said she’s not a murderer but a person who made a terrible mistake by not taking the child to the hospital. She also blamed the media for making her look bad.