TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman and her ex-boyfriendpleaded guilty Tuesday in the killing of her
18-month-old daughter,whose remains were found in a box in a garage three months after she wasreported
missing.Steven King II, the 24-year-old ex-boyfriend,told a Toledo judge that he had found the girl, Elaina
Steinfurth,injured in her bedroom and that he tried to resuscitate her. He said hethen smothered her to
death and put her in a box.The girl’s remains were found in September in the rafters of a garage that
belongs to King’s family."I knew what I did was wrong," King said Tuesday.Kingpleaded guilty to
aggravated murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of acorpse and obstructing justice. He was sentenced to
life in prison withparole eligibility after 25 years.The girl’s mother, AngelaSteinfurth, entered a type of
guilty plea to murder and obstructingjustice under which she maintains her innocence but
acknowledgesprosecutors had enough evidence to convict her. She was sentenced to 18years to life in prison
in accordance with her plea deal.She did not make a statement in court Tuesday.Prosecutorssaid Steinfurth
was upset when the toddler wouldn’t stop crying, andshe tossed the child across her bedroom. The child
suffered severeinjuries, and the next day Steinfurth noticed the baby wasn’t breathingwell. Prosecutors said
that’s when King killed the baby.AngelaSteinfurth and her two daughters stayed with King at his family’s
homeon June 1, investigators have said. Elaina’s father, Terry Steinfurth,went to the residence to pick up
his two daughters the next day, butonly Elaina’s 4-year-old sister could be found.Authoritiessearched homes,
vacant buildings and the Maumee River near downtown forany sign of Elaina while volunteers looked through
neighborhoods andparks.DNA tests confirmed the skeletal remains found in the garage were of Elaina.Terry
Steinfurth told the court Tuesday that he can’t understand how anyone could harm an innocent child."The
loss of Eliana has left my entire family with a gaping hole in our heart," he said.Thecounty coroner’s
office said in November that Eliana suffered injuriesindicating "non-accidental trauma," and that
there were severe, acutefractures to her arm and leg.Investigators spent the past sixmonths looking into
what happened to the toddler before a grand juryindicted the pair on Monday. Both have been in jail since
the summer onobstruction charges.Authorities have said Angela Steinfurth knew Elaina had been seriously
injured and didn’t seek medical help.King was charged in July with lying to investigators about the child’s
disappearance.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.