Nicole Finn gets 3 life sentences for starving 3 of her adopted children until 1 died

LEE ROOD   | The Des Moines Register

A Polk County judge on Friday sentenced Nicole Finn, the West Des Moines mother who rescued pets but starved three siblings she adopted, to three consecutive life sentences without parole.

Judge Karen Romano called the mother of five’s actions inexcusable and ordered her not to have any contact with her surviving adopted children. One of her adopted children, 16-year-old Natalie Finn, was so emaciated that she died of cardiac arrest.

The court cannot imagine what kind of mental trauma these children have suffered," Romano said.

Finn abused three of four children she adopted from foster care, removing them from public schools and locking them away as she slowly starved them.

The food-deprivation case is among several raising questions in Iowa and around the country, including one this month in Perris, California, in which parents slowly starved 13 children.

Finn, 43, did not comment before her sentencing Friday morning but said she would appeal the judge's decision, which requires that the life sentences be served one after the other — a largely symbolic gesture.

She was convicted in December of first-degree murder and kidnapping in Natalie's death and two counts of kidnapping for confining siblings Jaden, 15, and Mikayla, 14.

Natalie Finn died Oct. 24, 2016, weighing just 81 pounds. The average weight for a teen her age and height is 125 pounds.

Nicole Finn’s defense lawyers portrayed her as a divorced woman who became increasingly overwhelmed by trying to parent four adopted children with behavior disorders.

But testimony and texts presented in the trial showed that the mother was often defiant, suspicious and deeply resented the three siblings she took in after she adopted her son Nathan.

In the summer of 2016, after the teens sneaked out of the house to panhandle for food, Finn forbade them from leaving their shared bedroom without permission and slowly starved them.

Prosecutor Bret Lucas acknowledged that his request for consecutive life sentences for the offenses against Natalie, Jaden and Mikayla was largely symbolic.

"But if there was ever a case deserving consecutive life sentences, this would be that case," he said. 

Finn wrote Romano in Jan. 16 asking for a new trial and repeated a request she’d made at least twice before for new attorneys.

She also submitted more than 20 handwritten pages as a supplemental motion to the judge, alleging misconduct by her defense attorneys and an inability to present evidence in her defense.

Finn also wanted a hearing related to media coverage of the case, alleging that live video of the trial by a TV station picked up confidential conversations between her and her attorneys.

She said Friday she believed media coverage biased her trial but didn't elaborate.

But Finn’s defense lawyer Jennifer Larson said she received no information that the jury was biased by media coverage.

Romano agreed and denied Finn’s hearing request. The judge also denied the request for new lawyers and a new trial.

Before her sentencing, Finn occasionally turned, looked and smiled at Nathan, 16, who sat with his grandfather.

Finn's oldest son, who lives on the East Coast, was not present; nor were Jaden or Makyala, who live in foster care.

Mikayla and Jaden spent months recovering after their sister suffered cardiac arrest, experts testified.

It took a jury about a day to ponder horrific testimony and gruesome images in a case where children were treated worse than the animals living with them: Mikayla Finn testified she drank from a toilet because she was so thirsty.

The youngest daughter gave her emaciated sister Natalie a sponge bath from a kitty litter tray the day before Natalie died.

Nicole Finn's last attempt at feeding Natalie was a peanut butter smoothie from a used ketchup bottle.

Several child abuse reports came to Iowa's Department of Human Services in 2016 alleging Natalie and her siblings were dirty, smelled and appeared hungry.

But some of those early reports weren't taken seriously and, later, in summer 2016, Nicole Finn thwarted efforts by a social worker and West Des Moines police to check on the children.

When a social worker and police obtained a court order and finally entered the home in August 2016, Nicole was prepared and instructed the teens to shower and clean up. 

But the abuse continued after the authorities left.

Natalie Finn stopped walking several days before she died, her siblings testified.

Natalie vomited, choked and finally died on that bedroom floor in an adult diaper. Her body was covered in bed sores and she had little fat or muscle remaining on her body, officials testified.

Nathan estimated about 15 minutes passed as Nicole did CPR before he called 911.

Joseph Finn, who helped Nicole Finn confine the children, faces multiple felony counts, including kidnapping and child endangerment, at a trial in April.