One of Krisla Rezireksyon Kris's surviving children testified on Tuesday at her trial on charges of killing her 8-year-old daughter in 2011 Watch video
NEWARK -- The girl said she did not have fun while living with her biological mother.
On the witness stand Tuesday at the murder trial of her birth mother, Krisla Rezireksyon Kris, the 11-year-old Christina described a life inside the family's Irvington apartment five years ago that was defined by hunger and punishment.
While living with Rezireksyon Kris and her roommate, Myriam Janvier, Christina, then 7 years old, said she and her siblings, 8-year-old Christiana and 6-year-old Solomon, went days at a time without eating.
The children were "whooped" and forced to hold books above their heads while kneeling on metal grates from a stove, she said. They were "tied by our ankles" with ropes to a radiator while the women were out of the apartment, she said.
When the questions turned to the morning of May 22, 2011, Christina began to cry. On that day, she recalled seeing her sister's lifeless body in the living room of the apartment.
"We were trying to wake her up," said Christina, adding that "she was dead."
Authorities ultimately determined Christiana's death was a homicide, leading to murder, child endangerment and related charges against Rezireksyon Kris. A medical examiner has determined the girl died from severe malnutrition and an untreated broken femur.
Rezireksyon Kris, 34, also is accused of abusing and neglecting Christina and Solomon, whom authorities have said were starved and sustained fractures that went untreated.
Janvier, 27, also has been charged in the case, but she is expected to be tried separately at a later date.
When Christina was called as a witness on Tuesday, Rezireksyon Kris became emotional and began sobbing before the girl entered the courtroom. Soon after, Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin instructed the jury to leave the courtroom and all parties waited for Rezireksyon Kris to regain her composure.
After the jurors returned to the courtroom, Christina took the witness stand and began describing what life was like during 2011 inside the family's Chancellor Avenue apartment.
Christina, who was originally known as Christina Glenn, recalled the apartment was "white" and she was dressed in white clothes. As for furniture in the apartment, Christina said she remembered a bed in her biological mother's room and a rug, a table, chairs and a stove in the kitchen.
The children did not go outside very often, she said. They never went to the front of the apartment building and played, and they never went to a park, she said.
"Were you allowed to play?" Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Simonetti asked Christina.
"No," she replied.
Christina indicated she was always hungry. The children were only given soup to eat in the apartment and sometimes they did not eat for days, she said.
"Sometimes we wouldn't eat at all," she said. "We just wouldn't eat for days."
While Rezireksyon Kris and Janvier were out of the apartment, Christina said she and her siblings were "tied by our ankles" with ropes to a radiator. Both women tied up the children, she said. Before the women left the residence, they placed the soup in plastic containers and told the children to eat at noon, she said.
Christina said they were tied up every day from the morning hours until the women came home after it was "dark outside."
While they were tied up, Christina said the children would do their homework, but they never finished it because they always fell asleep. She said they "never got enough sleep" at night, because they were praying.
Simonetti asked what she would do if she had to "go to the bathroom" when they were tied up, and Christina said she would have to use a bucket placed near them.
Christina said Solomon would free himself from the rope and get more food in the kitchen. When the women returned home, Solomon said "we all did it" and "we got whooped," she said. She said the children also got in trouble for not finishing their homework.
As forms of punishment, Christina said the women would hit the children with a belt, a brush and a cord, and the children had to hold books above their heads and kneel on metal grates from a stove.
At some point, Christina said she and her siblings could not walk and were then "dragged" by their hands and arms. "It hurt," she said, describing how her body felt when she was unable to walk.
"We all got beaten," she said.
During a brief cross-examination, Aarin Williams, one of Rezireksyon Kris's attorneys, questioned Christina about whom she previously spoke to about the case and the conditions in the apartment. Christina acknowledged she spoke with the prosecutors, a therapist and other people.
Adrien Moncur, another attorney representing Rezireksyon Kris, has argued she suffers from "diminished capacity" and did not have the requisite state of mind to be found guilty of the charges. Moncur also has stressed the role of her pastor, Emanyel Rezireksyon Kris, and suggested that he had cast a spell over the two women.
Rezireksyon Kris legally changed her name from Venette Ovilde in order to match the pastor's name, according to Moncur. The children's names also were changed to Kristiana, Kristina and Solomon Rezireksyon Kris, according to trial testimony.
During her testimony, Christina spoke about interacting with the pastor, and said he never hit her or her siblings.
"He treated us nice," she said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.