A street view of the Yakima County Courthouse in Yakima, Washington. Image from Google Maps

A woman from the Yakama Nation of Washington was sentenced to 10 years in prison for child abuse.

Kai Martinez, 29, pleaded guilty to third degree child assault and first degree criminal mistreatment. She admitted that she abused her twin 8-year-old daughters, starving them in the process.

"This was a horrendous situation these two young girls easily and probably, but through the grace of God, would've died," Judge Ruth Reukauf of the Yakima County Superior Court said at the sentencing hearing, KIMA-TV reported.

Martinez lost custody of the girls shortly after they were born. But the tribe's court returned them to her in late 2013, according to news reports, and that's when the abuse began.

The girls were severely malnourished when they were found in Martinez's home after concerned relatives called police. They are currently staying with family but will be returned to a foster home where they lived for most of their lives, according to news reports.

Martinez suffers from a drug problem, her attorney said. She previously failed to complete a drug court sentence, The Yakima Herald-Republic reported.

Get the Story:
10 years for Yakima mother who starved daughters (KIMA 5/20)
Child Abuse Suspect Sentenced 10 Years (KAPP 5/20)
Abusive Yakima Mother Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail (NBC 5/20)
Yakima woman who starved twins gets 10 years in prison (The Yakima Herald-Republic 5/21)