A mother and stepfather in Britain were jailed Friday after their seven-year-old daughter starved to death following abuse described as "chilling in its harshness and cruelty."

Khyra Ishaq weighed 37 pounds (16.8 kilograms) when she was found emaciated in 2008 at her home in Birmingham.

Angela Gordon, 35, was jailed for 15 years for manslaughter while stepfather Junaid Abuhamza, 31, was given an indefinite prison term, but ordered to serve at least seven and a half years behind bars.

"Neglect is an inadequate and inappropriate description of the way they were treated," said judge Roderick Evans, after the couple were also found guilty of child cruelty charges against five other children.

"Rather, they were subjected to a domestic regime of punishment which was chilling in its harshness and cruelty," Evans said.

The jury was told that months of starvation had left Khyra's immune weak and "unable to resist infection".

"It was infection resulting from malnutrition which led to the bronchopneumonia and septicemia which were the immediate cause of her death," the judge said.

The court heard that Khyra and five other children were deprived of food despite the kitchen being well-stocked with food. Birmingham's social services was also criticised for not intervening sooner in the case.