Detroit mom gets 23 years for 8-year-old daughter's death

DETROIT - A Detroit woman has been sentenced to at least 23 years in prison for fatally stabbing her 8-year-old daughter just weeks after a family court official refused to have the girl removed from the mother's care.

Wayne County Judge Margaret Van Houten issued the prison sentence in accordance with an agreement between prosecutors and Semeria Greene.

Greene appeared in court on Monday, and had pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder. She'll be eligible for parole after 23 years in prison, but her maximum prison term could still be 50 years.

The Michigan Department of Human Services tried to remove infant Tameria Greene and her siblings from the home in November 2012.

The detailed petition presented to court Referee Richard Smart said Tameria had been bitten by her mother on her hand, forearm and face. The agency said there were multiple marks and bruises elsewhere.

But Smart declined, suggesting instead that their mother should move out or place the children elsewhere.

The state didn't appeal. Tameria was killed five weeks later.