Kansas Woman Sentenced for Murdering Adopted Daughter, 6, by Forcing Girl into Box, Suffocating Her with Blankets

A Kansas woman will spend nearly two decades in prison for the murder of her adopted daughter — a crime concealed for years before authorities uncovered the truth.

This week, Crystina Schroer was sentenced in Butler County to 215 months behind bars after pleading no contest to second-degree murder, child abuse, making a false writing and theft. The charges stem from the death of 6-year-old Natalie Garcia, whom Schroer and her husband adopted in 2019 and later renamed “Kennedy.”

Natalie vanished in 2020, but officials did not realize she was missing until four years later. Once authorities began searching for her, they discovered her decomposed remains buried in a black plastic bag two feet below an overgrown area of Schroer’s backyard, according to a disclosure order filed in the case. The autopsy determined the death was a homicide caused by “probable suffocation.”

Police in Rose Hill learned Natalie was missing in September 2024 after responding to a call that Schroer was threatening self-harm. While speaking with officers, Schroer repeatedly referenced the children who lived in the home — many adopted — and ultimately claimed that one of them had killed Natalie, according to the report.

She had volunteered this information shortly after being contacted by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), which had received a report concerning Natalie. However, DCF had already closed its investigation after speaking with Schroer.

Detectives discovered what happened only after interviewing one of Natalie’s sisters. During a break, the girl spoke privately with her father, unaware that she was still being recorded. She revealed that Schroer punished the girls by forcing them into a small box if they moved too much at night. One night in 2020, Natalie was placed inside the box for moving, and when she continued, Schroer stacked blankets and then a baby crib on top.

Natalie stopped making noise. The sister recalled crying and fearing her sibling had died. When Schroer eventually removed the box, Natalie “fell out” and appeared blue, according to the disclosure order. The sister said she had been told Natalie was in the hospital and did not know she was dead, expressing that she missed her and wished she would return.

Schroer’s husband, Joseph, initially faced a murder charge but prosecutors later dropped it. He pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated endangering a child and one count of Medicaid fraud for allowing the abuse to continue. His sentencing is scheduled for early December.

Investigators later learned from other children in the home — adopted, biological and foster — that Schroer routinely starved and tortured Natalie and the younger siblings. They said cameras were installed throughout the house to constantly monitor them, and they were often confined to their rooms and prohibited from speaking with visitors. The children had been told Natalie was at a mental hospital.

In September 2024, after DNA from Natalie’s biological mother was obtained, officials confirmed the remains found on the property were hers.

At sentencing, Schroer’s attorneys asked the court for leniency, but the judge imposed the maximum punishment. Judge Satterfield became emotional while describing the suffering Natalie and the other children endured. Prosecutors argued that Schroer viewed the children only as a source of financial gain.