A Kansas mother has been sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison following the tragic death of her adopted 6-year-old daughter, who was found suffocated in a box. The grim discovery was made at the family’s residence in Rose Hill, a small town southeast of Wichita, in September 2024.

Crystina Elizabeth Schroer, aged 50, received her sentencing on Monday after pleading no contest in August to charges including second-degree murder, child abuse, providing false information, and welfare fraud. Initially facing a first-degree murder charge, Schroer’s legal outcome resulted in a substantial prison term for the heartbreaking loss of Kennedy Schroer.

Meanwhile, Joseph Schroer, Crystina’s husband, is scheduled for sentencing on December 3 on charges of child endangerment, adding another layer to this distressing family saga.

A 44-page arrest affidavit paints a chilling picture of the events leading to Kennedy’s death, which occurred in late 2020. The investigation into the case began when Crystina Schroer attempted suicide in September 2024. When police responded, she expressed despair, saying, “her life was over and that no one was going to look at her the same.”

According to Crystina, the tragedy unfolded one evening in November or December 2020, during an altercation among her children. Attempting to intervene, she noticed Kennedy was missing. Guided by one of her other children, she located a box topped with a crib and blankets. Upon removing these items, Crystina discovered Kennedy inside, unresponsive and without a pulse.

Despite her attempts at CPR, Crystina was unable to revive Kennedy. In a state of panic and despair, she drove around with her daughter’s body before ultimately deciding to bury her in a shallow grave in the backyard. Crystina claimed that one of the children had placed Kennedy in the box, a detail that further complicates the sorrowful narrative of this family tragedy.

Detectives interviewed the child, but they couldn’t get her to speak and they left the room. Some time later, Joseph Schroer came out and asked to go to the bathroom, and told investigators they should review the video from the room as he was able to get the girl to open up.

The girl said the incident occurred when her dad was at work. She said her mother would force the kids to enter a storage container box if they moved during the night. According to the affidavit, she said her mom forced Kennedy into the box. The girl had to listen for her sister to make any movements or noises. Kennedy made a noise.

“[The sister] believed her mom heard that and came back into the room, asking ‘is she still making noises?’” the affidavit said.

The defendant then placed the blankets and crib on top of the box before leaving the room.

“When mom came back into the room, [the sister] was bawling, and mom asked why and she stated she Kennedy thought was dead, because she wasn’t making any noise,” detectives wrote.

She opened the box and Kennedy fell out. The girl was “blue.” The sister never saw Kennedy again. Detectives wrote that Crystina Schroer told her husband and other family members that the state took back custody of the girl because she was unable to live in a foster home because of behavior issues.

As Law&Crime previously reported, cops began searching the Schroer home in the 1400 block of North Meeker Court after Crystina Schroer’s suicide attempt.

Cops went to the home early the next day and began their search.

They encountered some hurdles right away. The vegetation was so overgrown that they had to take a bush whacker to clear the way so cadaver dogs could search the area. Once completed, the dogs alerted investigators to some areas of interest.

Hours into the forensic dig, cops uncovered the remains of young girl inside a trash bag in a makeshift grave about 2 feet deep. A couple weeks later a DNA test positively identified the body as Kennedy.

Detectives learned Kennedy was born Natalie Garcia on July 14, 2014, a press release said. Her birth parents relinquished their rights to the state and she was put up for adoption. The Schroers adopted her in November 2018 and changed her name. Police believe she was suffocated to death in late 2020. Her death was ruled a homicide.

“She was a beautiful child, with an infectious smile,” cops said.

Since the discovery of the body, police have spent some 2,000 hours building a case against the Schroers, working with local, state and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Wichita’s Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit.

“This case was built through the development of timelines spanning more than four years, which is the primary reason for the length of the investigation,” cops wrote.

Investigators also learned the suspect parents had been receiving some $23,000 in Medicaid payments after Kennedy’s death. The parents had three biological children and two adopted kids. The surviving children all have been placed in custody of the state since the discovery of Kennedy’s body.