A father has been jailed for only five years after starving his seven-year-old daughter to death.
Jewel Sky Fineday died on Christmas Day in 2022 after being starved to death - with the US Attorney's Office saying she was "not just thin, but skeletal" when found by authorities at the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Her father Julius Fineday Sr., 42, pleaded guilty to felony child neglect.
Judge Patrick Schiltz stated Jewel did not starve because there was a lack of food in the household, but because Julius neglected his daughter in "nearly every way" possible. The child's grandmother Sharon Marie Rosebar, 63, was convicted of the same charges , but has not been sentenced.
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Jewel was found to have succumb to malnutrition and infection due to the neglect. The young girl also had a severe case of head lice and had not been to a doctor in three years aside from cash-incentivized COVID jabs. Jewel also had been kept from attending school.
Defense attorney Robert Richman argued that his client should face just one year in prison despite the severe neglect, reports the Star Tribune . Richman argued the girl "died as a result of poverty, neglect and a family overwhelmed by the burden of caring for 10 minor children".
Jewel's native name was Miikawaddizimikinaakikezens, which means 'Beautiful Turtle Girl,' according to her obituary which described her love of playing hide and seek and tag with her cousins and siblings, dancing, and watching TiKTok videos on her father's phone. It added: "Jewel was always concerned about her dad, always making sure he was happy."
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In a separate case, Florida woman has been charged with child neglect after cops said she left her three young children at home alone while she worked a late shift.
Linda St. Leger, 36, was arrested on Wednesday and then charged with three counts of child neglect, say police. According to law enforcement, she had left her children, who are said to be aged 2, 8, and 10, unsupervised at home after she was asked by her employer to cover a shift at a local Wawa convenience store late at night.
According to reports a neighbor heard the children crying around 2am and the police were then alerted before attending the address. The children were said to be on their own as well as visibly distressed.
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