Indiana Couple Charged After Infant Dies From Starvation
- 9 years ago
An Indiana couple is now facing homicide charges in relation to their newborn’s death. Two days before Christmas, the parents, 23-year-old Ruby Stephens and 48-year-old Roy Stephens had been visiting relatives in Lakeland, Florida.
An Indiana couple is facing homicide charges in relation to their newborn’s death. Two days before Christmas, the parents, 23-year-old Ruby Stephens and 48-year-old Roy Stephens had travelled to Lakeland, Florida to visit relatives.
They called 911 after arriving at a Golden Corral restaurant and found their 22-day-old child, Betsey Kee Stephens, unresponsive in her car seat..
Betsey was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner discovered the infant weighed approximately four pounds. Given her age, she should have been somewhere around the 8 pound mark.
.According to the medical examiner’s report, Betsey had no food in her stomach or large intestines, indicating she had not been fed for around 7 hours. The medical examiner determined Betsey had been deceased for more than 3 hours before the Stephens called police and it was ruled she passed away from malnutrition due to starvation.
The assistant chief for the Lakeland Police Department commented “We hope to get some kind of why because it was senseless. If you don't want the child, give it up for adoption, give it to somebody. You don't have to starve a child to death. There is no reason for that."
The Stephens are now facing charges of first-degree murder. According to police, Roy Stephens is not the father of Betsey and likely because of the infidelity in the relationship, she wasn’t given the same treatment as the couple’s other kids.
An Indiana couple is facing homicide charges in relation to their newborn’s death. Two days before Christmas, the parents, 23-year-old Ruby Stephens and 48-year-old Roy Stephens had travelled to Lakeland, Florida to visit relatives.
They called 911 after arriving at a Golden Corral restaurant and found their 22-day-old child, Betsey Kee Stephens, unresponsive in her car seat..
Betsey was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The medical examiner discovered the infant weighed approximately four pounds. Given her age, she should have been somewhere around the 8 pound mark.
.According to the medical examiner’s report, Betsey had no food in her stomach or large intestines, indicating she had not been fed for around 7 hours. The medical examiner determined Betsey had been deceased for more than 3 hours before the Stephens called police and it was ruled she passed away from malnutrition due to starvation.
The assistant chief for the Lakeland Police Department commented “We hope to get some kind of why because it was senseless. If you don't want the child, give it up for adoption, give it to somebody. You don't have to starve a child to death. There is no reason for that."
The Stephens are now facing charges of first-degree murder. According to police, Roy Stephens is not the father of Betsey and likely because of the infidelity in the relationship, she wasn’t given the same treatment as the couple’s other kids.