A DeKalb County grandmother convicted of beating her own granddaughter to death refused to enter a courtroom for sentencing on Wednesday moing.
Selena Rivera, 42, told her attoey that she did not want to come inside the courtroom to hear her sentence.
"Ms. Rivera has confirmed to me that she would like to be sentenced without being inside the courtroom," attoey Darryl Queen told the judge.
A jury convicted Rivera of murder in the death of her 3-year-old granddaughter, Neveah Pinckney. Prosecutors said Rivera beat the child with a pipe, then stuffed her body inside a closet. Neveah's 8-year-old sister discovered the body.
"She was bruised and battered and beaten to the point that the medical examiner said her body could no longer sustain life," prosecutor Lee Williams said.
Rivera maintained her innocence during the trial.
Friends and family begged for mercy during sentencing.
After Rivera waived her appearance, Judge Mark Anthony Scott sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole, but he noted that she would not be eligible for parole for 30 years.
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