Kansas Woman Sentenced for Murdering Adopted Daughter, 6, by Forcing Girl into Box, Suffocating Her with Blankets

Crystina Schroer murdered her adopted daughter Natalie Garcia in 2020, but kept her death a secret until the child’s remains were discovered in 2024

NEED TO KNOW

  • Crystina Schroer was sentenced to 215 months in prison after entering a no contest plea to multiple charges — including murder — in the death of her 6-year-old adopted daughter Natalie Garcia
  • Natalie died in 2020 after being suffocated inside a small box in which Crystina had forced the child. She was then buried in the backyard by Crystina, who said she was in a mental hospital
  • Police learned in 2024 that one of Natalie’s sisters had witnessed the murder — and soon after, they located Natalie’s remains on the property

A Kansas mother will spend close to two decades in prison for the murder of her adopted daughter.

Crystina Schroer appeared in a Butler County courtroom this week and was sentenced to 215 months in prison for offenses including second-degree murder, child abuse, making a false writing and theft.

Those convictions are all related to the death of 6-year-old Natalie Garcia, who had been adopted by Crystina and her husband in 2019 and went missing in 2020…

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