A stepfather who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse in the 2011 death of a 3-year-old Arizona girl has been sentenced to life in prison.
Maricopa County Superior Court officials announced Corey Daniels' sentence Friday.
Prosecutors say Daniels was taking care of the child while his wife, Ambreatte Smith, was at work. He allegedly beat the girl for not eating her dinner and talking back to him.
The child died of her injuries the following day.
Authorities say an autopsy showed the girl had multiple blunt-force trauma injuries and brain swelling.
Smith was sentenced earlier this year to two years of probation for child abuse. Authorities say she knew her then-husband was physically abusing her daughter.
