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

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.

Authorities didn’t realize she was missing until four years later, when they began searching for the child, whom Crystina had renamed “Kennedy” after the adoption.

The decomposed remains of the child were located just days into the search in a black plastic bag buried two feet below the ground in a section of Crystina’s backyard that was overgrown with weeds, according to a copy of a disclosure order filed in the case and obtained by PEOPLE.

The autopsy report listed the manner of death as homicide and the cause as “probable suffocation.”

Police in Rose Hill discovered Natalie was missing in September 2024 after responding to Crystina’s home for a report that she was threatening to take her own life.

When officials arrived at the home and began speaking with Crystina, she repeatedly referred to the children living there — several of whom were adopted — and then claimed that one of them had killed Natalie, according to the order.

Crystina volunteered this information a few days after being contacted by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), who had received a report of something happening to Natalie, according to the order.

Unbeknownst to Crystina, DCF had closed its investigation after speaking with her on the phone.

Police learned what really happened to Natalie after they brought one of her sisters in for questioning: During a break in the interview, the girl spoke to her father — unaware she was still being recorded — and revealed what had happened to her sister, saying that Crystina would force the girls into a small box if they moved too much at night, according to the order.

The sister said Natalie had been put in the box by Crystina one night in 2020, according to the order, and when Natalie continued to move, Crystina stacked blankets and later a baby crib on top of Natalie in the box.

Natalie grew silent over time, according to the sister, who said she started to cry because she thought Natalie might be dead. Subsequently, the sister said Crystina decided to let Natalie out, according to the order.

“Mom took the box off and [Natalie] fell out, she was blue,” the order says, recounting the assertions of the sister, whose name is redacted. “[Redacted] told her dad she didn’t want to say anything else. Joseph asked where [Natalie] was at and she stated that her mom told her she was in hospital, but she didn’t know where she was. [Redacted] said that she really missed [Natalie] and wished she would come back.”

Joseph told police he knew nothing about it. Although he was at one point charged with murder, prosecutors later dropped that charge. He then pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated endangering a child and one count of Medicaid fraud for allowing his wife’s abuse of their children; his sentencing is set for early December.

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In subsequent interviews, police learned from the couple’s adopted, biological and foster children that Crystina routinely starved and tortured Natalie and the other young children, and even kept cameras throughout the house to constantly monitor them.

The children also said they were largely confined to their rooms and never allowed to speak with guests at the home, according to the order.

As for Natalie, the other children had been told she was in a mental hospital after she died in 2020.

Police discovered remains buried on the property in September 2024. After obtaining DNA from Natalie’s biological mother, officials confirmed the remains belonged to the young girl.

Crystina pleaded no contest to all charges in August. Despite her attorneys’ request for leniency at this week’s hearing, the judge imposed the maximum sentence on every count.

Butler County District Court Judge Satterfield had to pause and gather herself at times, using a tissue to wipe her nose and eyes, as she described the suffering Natalie and other young children endured while in Crystina’s care.

Prosecutors said at trial and again at sentencing that Crystina viewed the children as nothing more than a paycheck.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.