UPDATE: Mom accused of killing her toddler pleaded for help from 911. Said she was ‘hiding’

A mother accused of killing her 23-month-old child in Bridgeton told police she struck the boy “because he would not eat nor listen to her,” according to the criminal complaint against her.

Nakira M. Griner, 24, of Bridgeton, is charged with murder in the death of her son, Daniel Griner Jr.

The child’s burned and dismembered remains were found buried under a shed at the family’s home, according to the complaint.

The mother originally reported Friday evening that the child had been abducted, prompting a search by police.

That search ended early Saturday morning with the discovery of remains at the woman’s Woodland Drive home.

On Monday, documents filed by investigators revealed a brutal series of allegations:

Griner admitted striking the child so hard that it left bruises on his face, and also said he fell down a flight of stairs. After striking the child, she didn’t call for help, but placed him in a stroller and left him alone, according to the criminal complaint.

Police responded to area of Giles and New streets around 6:30 p.m. Friday for a report of a woman screaming and found Griner, who told them a stranger had attacked her on Atlantic Street while she was walking with Daniel in a stroller and her infant son strapped to her chest.

She said her assailant kicked her and she fell to the ground as the attacker continued to kick her in the head and right side. When she looked up, the stroller and Daniel was gone, she told police.

Police found the stroller, containing only a pair of red sneakers, a few blocks from Atlantic on Devonshire Place.

During an interview with police, she said Daniel, “liked going with strangers and she did not remember if she heard him screaming during the attack.”

Her attacker didn’t demand money or take a $5,000 ring she was wearing, Griner told police.

6 Memorial outside home of Daniel Griner, Jr.

As police sought surveillance camera footage, her story about where the assault occurred changed to another street. No video could be found to support her claim and Griner agreed to take a polygraph, which she failed.

She then told police she left Daniel, still alive, in the stroller on Devonshire Place “because she wanted someone to find him and help him because no one would believe her.”

Based on the abduction claim, police launched a search for the child that included city police, Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police. The NJSP brought bloodhounds along to help.

The remains were found around 3 a.m.

In their report, police describe finding human remains in trash bags under the shed. The report also states “burnt remains of what appeared to be a child were located in Nakira’s purse under the shed …”

Investigators have not revealed Daniel’s cause of death or exactly when they believe he died.

In Griner’s final entry on her Facebook page, she commented Thursday about her love for her husband. “In love with him that’s why we have two beautiful children,” she wrote.

Griner is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing on charges including first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, desecration of human remains and tampering with evidence.

A small memorial of balloons, toys and flowers was placed in front of the home Griner shares with her husband. Friends and co-workers have rallied behind Daniel Griner Sr. by starting a GoFundMe to help him cover expenses.

The creator of the fundraiser described him as a registered nurse.

“He had two baby boys,” she writes. “The mother of his children killed their first born. I have no idea why. What I do know is he’s going to struggle with paying for things from here on out.”

As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had collected more than $2,000 toward a goal of $2,500.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.

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