Who Is Natalie Finn? Starved, Tortured Dead Teen’s Parents Plead Not Guilty

A former Iowa couple who allegedly starved and tortured their teen daughter to death pleaded not guilty Monday to child endangerment, kidnapping and other charges related to the girl’s death. Their trial is set to begin March 27.

Nicole Finn, 42, and Joseph Michael Finn Jr., 46, of West Des Moines were arrested after their 16-year-old daughter Natalie Finn suffered cardiac arrest Oct. 24 at their home and was pronounced dead at a hospital. The parents were taken into police custody after officials launched an investigation into Natalie’s death. The two currently face charges related to kidnapping, child endangerment and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person — some of these counts involve at least two other children. Nicole is also charged with first-degree murder.

Criminal complaints filed in Polk County stated that Nicole killed her daughter "intentionally, willfully, deliberately, with premeditation and malice aforethought," the Des Moines Register reported in December.

The former couple, who divorced in 2011, shared joint custody of the children. Both confined Natalie and two of her siblings — a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy — at their small brick home in the city, the complaints reportedly showed. They used "unreasonable force, torture or cruelty" that caused serious harm to the three children. The teens were deprived of food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision, which led to "substantial" physical, mental and emotional damage and in Natalie's case, death, the complaints alleged.

Furthermore, five months before Natalie’s death, the West Des Moines Police Department received complaints from neighbors about the children’s condition. One of the neighbors reportedly said that Natalie, who considered herself as the “protector” of her siblings, repeatedly asked them for food.

The parents are being held at the Polk County Jail since their arrests in December and could end up in jail in for life if convicted.