A Kansas mother has been sentenced to nearly two decades in prison following the tragic death of her 6-year-old adopted daughter, who suffocated after being confined in a box. The case has shocked the small community of Rose Hill, a town with a population of around 4,000, located southeast of Wichita.

Crystina Elizabeth Schroer, aged 50, received a prison sentence exceeding 17 years on Monday for the death of young Kennedy Schroer. Kennedy’s remains were discovered in September 2024, buried at the family’s residence. Crystina had previously entered a plea of no contest to charges including second-degree murder, child abuse, providing false information, and welfare fraud, initially having faced a first-degree murder accusation.

Joseph Schroer, Crystina’s husband, is scheduled to be sentenced for child endangerment on December 3, further unfolding the family’s legal troubles.

The grim details of Kennedy’s demise were outlined in a 44-page probable cause affidavit. The investigation was set in motion in September 2024 when Rose Hill police were called to the Schroer home following Crystina’s suicide attempt. Upon their arrival, Crystina expressed that her life was over and feared the judgment of others.

She recounted an incident from late 2020, describing a night of chaos when her children were fighting. In an attempt to separate them, she went outside and questioned one of her children about Kennedy’s whereabouts. The child directed her gaze to a box topped with a crib and blankets. Upon removing these items, Crystina discovered Kennedy inside, unresponsive and without a pulse, a haunting memory that has now led to her lengthy imprisonment.

The mother tried to complete CPR on Kennedy but to no avail, and she realized the girl was dead. She then proceeded to drive around with the girl’s body, and eventually decided to bury her in a 23-inch grave in the backyard of her home. She said it was one of the kids who put her in the box.

Detectives interviewed the child, but they couldn’t get her to speak and they left the room. Some time later, Joseph Schroer came out and asked to go to the bathroom, and told investigators they should review the video from the room as he was able to get the girl to open up.

The girl said the incident occurred when her dad was at work. She said her mother would force the kids to enter a storage container box if they moved during the night. According to the affidavit, she said her mom forced Kennedy into the box. The girl had to listen for her sister to make any movements or noises. Kennedy made a noise.

“[The sister] believed her mom heard that and came back into the room, asking ‘is she still making noises?’” the affidavit said.

The defendant then placed the blankets and crib on top of the box before leaving the room.

“When mom came back into the room, [the sister] was bawling, and mom asked why and she stated she Kennedy thought was dead, because she wasn’t making any noise,” detectives wrote.

She opened the box and Kennedy fell out. The girl was “blue.” The sister never saw Kennedy again. Detectives wrote that Crystina Schroer told her husband and other family members that the state took back custody of the girl because she was unable to live in a foster home because of behavior issues.

As Law&Crime previously reported, cops began searching the Schroer home in the 1400 block of North Meeker Court after Crystina Schroer’s suicide attempt.

Cops went to the home early the next day and began their search.

They encountered some hurdles right away. The vegetation was so overgrown that they had to take a bush whacker to clear the way so cadaver dogs could search the area. Once completed, the dogs alerted investigators to some areas of interest.

Hours into the forensic dig, cops uncovered the remains of young girl inside a trash bag in a makeshift grave about 2 feet deep. A couple weeks later a DNA test positively identified the body as Kennedy.

Detectives learned Kennedy was born Natalie Garcia on July 14, 2014, a press release said. Her birth parents relinquished their rights to the state and she was put up for adoption. The Schroers adopted her in November 2018 and changed her name. Police believe she was suffocated to death in late 2020. Her death was ruled a homicide.

“She was a beautiful child, with an infectious smile,” cops said.

Since the discovery of the body, police have spent some 2,000 hours building a case against the Schroers, working with local, state and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Wichita’s Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit.

“This case was built through the development of timelines spanning more than four years, which is the primary reason for the length of the investigation,” cops wrote.

Investigators also learned the suspect parents had been receiving some $23,000 in Medicaid payments after Kennedy’s death. The parents had three biological children and two adopted kids. The surviving children all have been placed in custody of the state since the discovery of Kennedy’s body.