Murdered Little Girl May Have Been Dead for Days

Gwinnett County Police are offering new details in the investigation of the murder of a 10 year old girl in Lawrenceville.

An autopsy was performed on Emani Moss, whose badly burned body was found inside a garbage can at the Coventry Pointe apartment complex on Veranda Chase Drive Saturday morning. The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner ruled Emani’s death a homicide, but more tests need to be done before the exact cause of her death can be identified.

Detectives believe the girl’s body was burned after she died in an effort to hide the crime. Little Emani may have died as early as Wednesday, October 30—three days before her body was discovered.

Investigators say there were signs of abuse. The young girl was denied food for several days before she died and she was severely underweight.

Detectives also believe Emani was cut off from the rest of the world in the weeks leading up to her death. 

“She did not attend school outside the home during this school year,” said GCPD Cpl. Jake Smith in a release. “She did attend public school during prior school years.” 

Emani’s father, Eman Moss, and step-mother, Tiffany Moss, were both arrested Saturday and charged with the girl’s murder.

Smith says the father was not suicidal during the 911 call as once thought. “That information was based on an initial miscommunication between the caller and the call taker and was clarified later in the call,” said Smith. 

11Alive reports Emani’s grandmother, Robin Moss, suspected the girl was being abused by her parents and fought for custody. The grandmother also called the Department of Family and Children’s services shortly after Eman and Tiffany were married.

Both parents are being held at the Gwinnett County Detention Center. They are charged with felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, and concealing a body.