Arizona woman sentenced in death of 5-year-old daughter whose body was never found

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona mother has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the death of her 5-year-old daughter whose body was never found.

Jerice Hunter was sentenced Friday after being convicted in April of first-degree murder and child abuse in the death of Jhessye Shockley.



Prosecutors say the 41-year-old Hunter had a friend give her a ride to a neighboring city so she could dump a suitcase containing the body in a trash bin before telling authorities the child was missing.

They say the child was beaten, neglected and confined to a closet before the body was dumped in 2011. She was never found, even though officers picked through 9,500 tons of garbage at landfills.