South LA mother who fatally choked, beat her 4-year-old daughter sentenced

By KABC Staff

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    LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A South Los Angeles woman has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after pleading no contest to beating and choking her 4-year-old daughter to death.

Akira Keyshell Smith, 37, was sentenced Tuesday after victim impact statements were presented in court from the child’s brothers, grandmother and aunt.

Smith’s daughter Eternity died on Aug. 11, 2020. Her other sons, who are now in foster care, testified in preliminary hearings that she assaulted and abused the 4-year-old girl.

The day Eternity died, Smith slapped, kicked, hit and choked her daughter until she was unconscious, according to the testimony.

“Ms. Smith, over a two-day period beat her little 4-year-old daughter to death,” Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami said last month. “It was a horrendous case … And she did that in front of her sons, Christopher and Ezekiel. They have to live with that for the rest of their lives.”

Smith pleaded no contest to first-degree murder last month. The 25-to-life sentence was expected as part of her plea, which also involved the dismissal of lesser charges.

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