Nearly three years after prosecutors said she fatally stabbed her 4-year-old daughter and attempted to kill her son during a psychotic episode inside the family’s Modesto home, Mina Nazari was sentenced Tuesday to 32 years to life in prison, plus six years, after a Stanislaus County judge denied defense motions seeking a new trial and acquittal.
Judge Ruben Villalobos rejected motions filed by defense attorney Franz Criego challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and seeking to overturn the jury’s verdict before imposing the sentence. The sentencing had been continued several times following Nazari’s March conviction and sanity verdict.
Nazari, 36, received 25 years to life for first-degree murder in the killing of her daughter, Sana Akram, and a consecutive seven years to life for the attempted murder of her son. She also received a consecutive six-year determinate sentence stemming from weapon enhancements and child endangerment, according to Deputy District Attorney Fawn Smolak…