By Dan Grennan,Peter Rubinstein

Copyright dailystar

A dad was found guilty of second-degree murder and felony child abuse following the horrific death of his 12-week-old daughter in 2022. He is set to serve a minimum of 27 years behind bars after being sentenced on Friday in North Carolina. Nicholas Shane Stephenson, 37, was accused by prosecutors of torturing , abusing, neglecting and starving his infant daughter, Riley, to such an extent that her “skin was loose on her body.” Superior Court Judge George Bell handed down a sentence on Friday of an active prison term of 200 to 252 months for murder, followed by a consecutive active term of 125 to 162 months for the child abuse conviction. “The evidence in this case was extremely graphic. We are grateful to the jury for their careful consideration of the evidence, which has held Stephenson accountable for the heartless cruelty he inflicted on this most vulnerable and innocent child,” stated Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams. Riley’s mother, Diandra Fuhr-Farlow, had previously entered a guilty plea to felony child abuse. She initially faced a first-degree murder charge, and testified against Stephenson at his trial, according to prosecutors. Stephenson was originally charged with first-degree murder, but was ultimately convicted of the lesser offence of second-degree murder, reports the Mirror US . Officers from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department and emergency medical staff were called to a 911 incident on June 28, 2022, in the town of Candler, situated southwest of Asheville. The caller, later identified as Fuhr-Farlow, reported that her daughter was unresponsive in her cot. Upon arrival, first responders noted that Riley appeared malnourished and had visible injuries, including facial bruising and burns, as detailed in a search warrant application. Riley was rushed to a nearby hospital, but tragically, she was declared dead later that day. A doctor at Mission Hospital reported that the girl had sustained a fractured left clavicle, multiple broken ribs, a broken arm, several burn marks on her face, and appeared to be dehydrated. Approximately a month prior, Riley had received a “clean bill of health” from the Mountain Area Health Education Center’s Family Health Centre, her parents informed authorities, as per the warrant. In an interview with investigators, Fuhr-Farlow explained that the bruising resulted from Riley hitting her head on the bathtub tap about two weeks earlier. She claimed that the burns emerged when Stephenson attempted to treat her bruising with a hot cold pack. “Then they attempted to treat the injuries with Neosporin,” authorities penned in the search warrant, as reported by the Asheville Citizen Times. “A couple days later, while she was applying the ointment, Riley grabbed the Neosporin cap, placed it in her mouth and started choking. Ms. Fuhr-Farlow was able to retrieve the cap and Riley started breathing normally.” However, the mother later claimed that the injuries were actually inflicted when Stephenson allegedly dangled Riley by her feet and shook her until she cried, according to recently filed court documents. She also accused Stephenson of choking Riley on at least one occasion. Stephenson was initially charged with second-degree murder and negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury. Furh-Farlow faced charges of felonious child abuse inflicting serious bodily harm. Approximately one month later, their charges were escalated to first-degree murder. “Based on the totality of the facts from our investigation to include the findings from the preliminary autopsy and after consultation with the district attorney, we have upgraded the charges against the parents of Riley,” Maj. John Ledford announced in a news statement. As per WLOS, the medical examiner who conducted Riley’s autopsy noted that she was severely underweight and suffering from advanced pneumonia at the time of her death. It was also observed that she had no medication and virtually no nourishment in her system. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .