Gwinnett County

Tiffany Moss' standby attorneys surprise judge with request

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The death penalty trial of a Gwinnett County woman charged with starving her stepdaughter to death entered its third day Friday.

Tiffany Moss is representing herself. She declined to give an opening statement and hasn’t asked a single question of any of the witnesses who have testified against her, including her husband.

As a medical examiner showed autopsy photos of 10-year-old Emani Moss' burned 32-pound body, jurors held back tears and a few wiped their eyes.

“She was more or less skin and bones,” Dr. Michele Stauffenberg said. "Her face looked very thin to me."

Moss never looked up from the defense table.

Channel 2's Tony Thomas, who was inside the courtroom for the trial, said Moss' standby attorneys appear to be getting very concerned and took another step to try and intervene Friday morning.

The attorneys asked to meet with the judge privately. It seemed to surprise him, Thomas said. District Attorney Danny Porter objected.

The judge met with them but didn't make any ruling on what was discussed.

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Eman Moss laid out in harrowing detail Thursday how he and his wife attempted to conceal the death of Emani by putting her body in a galvanized trash can and lighting it on fire.

The body failed to burn to ashes, and Eman Moss eventually reported his daughter’s death to police.

Some jurors appeared to be visibly disturbed by the the gruesome testimony.

Eman Moss is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. He agreed to testify against his wife.

Jurors will return Monday morning to hear at least one closing argument in the case. No one knows what Tiffany Moss will do.

The jury will then have its own private meeting to decide the woman's guilt or innocence.

Information from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was used in this story.