Evil mum left adopted kids to starve before teen collapsed and died of heart attack
A WOMAN who rescued pets but left three adopted siblings to starve has been sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole.
One of the children, 16-year-old Natalie Fiunn was so emaciated that she collapsed and died of a heart attack on the bathroom floor.
The tragic teen, who was covered in bed sores, was wearing an adult nappy when she was found dead, officials told the court.
Nicole Finn, 43, locked the siblings in a filthy single bedroom in her Iowa home before boarding up the windows when she caught them sneaking out to beg strangers for food.
Finn adopted the children from foster care, removing them from public schools and locking them away as she starvd them, the Des Moines Register reports.
In sentencing, Judge Karen Romano called Finn’s actions inexcusable and ordered her not to have any contact with the survunving children.
“The court cannot imagine what kind of mental trauma these children have suffered,” Romano said.
When Natalie became so malnourished she couldn’t stand, the monster stood above her and screamed “since you’re not going to get up, I’m not going to feed you”.
The 16-year-old died in October 2016 from a cardiac arrest brought on by starvation.
Horrified cops in Des Moines, Iowa, found the teen dead on the bathroom floor wearing just a soiled adult nappy.
An autopsy revealed that she weighed just 38 kilograms at the time of death, and had no remaining body fat.
Finn, 43, did not comment before her sentencing but said she would appeal the judge’s decision.
She was convicted in December of first-degree murder and kidnapping in Natalie’s death and two counts of kidnapping for confining siblings Jaden, 15, and Mikayla, 14.
Jaden told police how Nicole Finn forced them to drink from the toilet bowl — and only let them leave their filthy room twice in the summer before Natalie died.
Police said the home reeked of human and animal waste and the furniture-less bedroom was soaked in urine.
Detective Chris Morgan, from the West Des Moines police department, wrote in a report:
“Many animals roamed freely, including well over a dozen kittens and cats.
“There were numerous kennels with dogs scattered inside the residence.”
When a social worker and police obtained a court order and finally entered the home in August 2016, Nicole was prepared and instructed the teens to shower and clean up.
But the abuse continued after the authorities left.
Nicole Finn’s ex-husband Joseph Finn, who helped her confine the children, faces multiple felony counts, including kidnapping and child endangerment, at a trial in April.
