Yakima Mother Gets 10 Years for Starving Daughters

A Yakima mother was sentenced to 10 years in prison for locking her twin daughters in a room and leaving them starving.

Police arrested 29-year-old Kia Martinez in February on charges that she locked up her daughters, without food, for weeks. In April, Martinez pleaded guilty to two counts of each of first-degree criminal mistreatment.  Court documents show that officers found the girls after Martinez's aunt called police. Police say the girls were extremely malnourished and needed immediate medical care.
The girls had been in foster care most of their lives; they had just been released back to Martinez in December of 2013.
Wednesday afternoon, detectives who interviewed the girls gave their testimony in court.

In addition to being starved, the girls told detectives Martinez tried to suffocate them with pillows and nearly drowned them in the tub. Martinez’s boyfriend, 41-year-old Roberto Valladares, also faces charges in the case. He's being held in the Yakima County jail.