Mother enters guilty plea in death of toddler

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) —  Emma Huver, 26, of Lansing, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in charges related to the death of a two-year-old at a Lansing gas station.

Huver entered a guilty plea on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of the deal, she was required to admit “she had a purple 9-millimeter Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol in her car on October 24, 2023,” reports the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan in a news release.

On Sept. 16, Huver will face sentencing.

Huver was one of three charged in the death of King Muhammad on Oct. 24, 2023. The toddler allegedly shot himself in the head while sitting in a car at a gas station in Lansing.

Also charged are Avis Coward, 44, and Gina Schieberl, 27. Both were charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence and evidence tampering. Coward was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges security camera footage caught the accidental shooting and aftermath.

Coward got out of a car at a Lansing gas station and went inside, leaving a two-year-old child and the child’s mother, Huver, in the car. Surveillance video showed that a minute later a bullet hole appeared in the car window. Huver got out of the car holding her child, who had blood on his face from a gunshot wound. As she did so, Coward’s gun fell out of the car. Huver handed the child to Coward, who then passed the child to a third person who took the victim into the gas station and attempted to control the bleeding until medical personnel arrived. Coward returned to the car, picked up the gun off the ground, and put it back in the car. The surveillance video also showed Coward use his hand to break out the front passenger window, which had the bullet hole. Coward then drove away. The child later died from his injuries.

News Release, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, April 29, 2024

The office alleges Schieberl and Coward worked together to hide and destroy evidence of the shooting including weapons and the car itself. Officials say the car was found burned in a field.

“Today’s guilty plea is one step forward in our effort to achieve a measure of justice for this tragic loss of life,” says U.S. Attorney Mark Totten in a news release. “This case magnifies one of the grimmest statistics we live with in America today: that gun violence is now the #1 cause of death for our youngest, ages 0-19. We cannot accept this ‘new normal,’ but must do everything we can to prevent these deaths.”

Previously Reported on 6 News

Mother will plead guilty in toddler’s accidental death

Mother of toddler who shot himself now charged

New federal charges in case involving Lansing toddler who shot himself

Lansing man federally charged in toddler’s death

Toddler dies after shooting self with unsecured gun

2-year-old in critical condition after self-inflicted gunshot

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