IRVINGTON — Two years before starvation made her bones as brittle as dead twigs, Christiana Glenn sat with her godparents in the office of a court-appointed counselor, explaining what life was like in her Irvington apartment.

Meals were soup and crackers. Always soup and crackers. That's what Pastor Kris wanted, the godparents said Christiana, then 6, told the counselor.

What about toys, she was asked.

There were no toys, the girl answered. Christiana’s mother — "mommy sensei," she called her — believed toys were "idols."

And school?

"We don’t go to school," the girl said, according to her godparents. "Pastor Kris teach us and we stay at home."

And what did she do for fun?

Tommie and Mary McCoy said their goddaughter sighed deeply and didn’t respond.

The account of that meeting, held in West Orange in August 2009, offers an early glimpse into the spare, sheltered existence of a child who would later suffer an agonizing death, one brought on by severe malnutrition and complications of a badly broken leg.

As prosecutors and child welfare officials continued parallel investigations, the McCoys and their daughter, Channell Fields, spoke of their efforts to help Christiana, discovered dead by her mother on Sunday.

Increasingly concerned about Christiana’s welfare, the McCoys in 2009 moved to gain custody of her in the family division of Superior Court in Newark. The meeting with the counselor in West Orange was meant to assess the strength of the McCoys’ relationship with the girl. In the end, the McCoys said, a judge denied their custody request.

The decision deeply troubled the McCoys, who said Ovilde had fully embraced what they called a a "cult."

"To a certain extent, she was manipulated and brainwashed," Fields said.

Fields said her visits to Ovilde’s apartment ventured into the eerie. During one visit, four robed women stood in the corners of Ovilde’s living room, chanting loudly as they stared at Fields, she said.

On another trip to Irvington, seven members of the congregation stood lined against a wall, as if at attention, watching her.

Over time, Fields said, she and her parents were completely cut off from Christiana.

By last week, the girl’s medical condition had become dire, authorities said.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said Christiana was "malnourished beyond belief." The sustained lack of food made the girl’s bones easily susceptible to breaks. Indeed, the official said, Christiana’s femur may have broken on its own, in the course of movement, and not as a result of a beating.

"The femur is the strongest bone in the body, but it was so brittle that it fractured in two places," said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. "Must have been immense pain."

By Ryan Hutchins and Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger

Staff writers Susan K. Livio, James Queally, Alexi Friedman and Seth Augenstein contributed to this report.

Previous coverage:

• Pastor's sway over his followers stirs questions as police probe Irvington girl's death

• Reports of neglect made against mother of Irvington girl who died, but charges not substantiated

• Death of Irvington girl, 8, remains under investigation

• Two Irvington women accused of not feeding children after 8-year-old is found dead

• Death of 8-year-old Irvington girl ruled a homicide

• 8-year-old girl found dead in Irvington