Her 5-year-old had a medical condition that required a tracheotomy. But Shekinah Ayesha Akbar told Cobb County investigators her daughter also had “evil spirits.”
It was those spirits that led Akbar, now 33, to beat her daughter to death on Feb. 10, 2020. She pleaded guilty but mentally ill to felony murder and cruelty to children charges Monday and was sentenced to life in prison, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
“This beautiful little girl was brutally tortured, bitten and abused for upwards of 12 hours by the one person in the world who is supposed to love her unconditionally and protect her at all costs,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said during the plea hearing. “It is unfathomable the betrayal she must’ve felt.”
In February 2020, Akbar called 911 to report that her neighbors had tortured and beaten both her and her daughter and then locked them in the bathroom for hours, according to the district attorney. She said her daughter was no longer alive inside their Cumberland Crossing apartment, located off Hidden Glen Drive in Marietta.
When firefighters arrived, they found the child lifeless in the bedroom and her tracheotomy tube had been removed, according to investigators. The child, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
According to Akbar’s arrest warrant, the child had visible injuries and bruising all over her body, as well as injuries on her neck consistent with strangulation. Her body was also covered in dozens of bite marks, including on her face, ear, chest, arms, legs and hands, according to prosecutors. The child’s neck was injured due to the removal of the tracheotomy tube, investigators determined.
While speaking to Cobb police, Akbar said she was performing an exorcism on her daughter in order to cast out evil spirits, the DA’s office said. She admitted to hitting and biting her daughter, but claimed she didn’t remember inflicting that much harm on the child.
In January 2021, a grand jury indicted Akbar. She filed a special plea of insanity, but withdrew the notice and entered a guilty but mentally ill plea. She has remained in the Cobb jail since her arrest.
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