Christian Woman Sentenced for Starving Children

A woman who starved her four children and herself, telling them God would provide for their family, was sentenced today to eight years in prison by a judge who labeled her a "passive, self-centered and narcissistic individual" who violated the tenets of the Bible.

Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti, sitting in Newton, ordered Estelle Walker, 50, of New York City, to serve four years before becoming eligible for parole. She was given credit for the 460 days she already served in the Sussex County jail, meaning she’ll be eligible for parole in about 33 months.

Before imposing the sentence, Conforti told Walker that the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, is filled with references to motherhood and how mothers should care for their children.

"The court has read the Bible, too. Mothers are told to love their children," Conforti told Walker, whose attorney had argued she failed to provide food to her children — ages 8, 9, 11 and 13 at the time — because she was praying for divine intervention.