Grand Jury Indicts Indiana Couple in Starvation Death of Infant in Lakeland

Roy Stephens, 48, left, and Ruby Stephens, 23.

BARTOW | A grand jury indicted a couple Thursday in the starvation death of a 22-day-old baby in their custody just days before Christmas.

Roy and Ruby Stephens, 48 and 23, respectively, are both facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child in the death of Betsy Kee Stephens on Dec. 23.
Associate Medical Examiner Dr. Vera Volnikh said Betsey died from "starvation due to neglect," and her manner of death was "homicide," reports state.
The family took a trip from Tennyson, Ind., to visit family in the Lakeland area and arrived Dec. 23, reports state.
The family went to Golden Corral on U.S. 98 North, and Ruby Stephens pulled Betsy out of the car to find she was cold to the touch and un­responsive.
Ruby Stephens told detectives she had fed Betsy an hour before she found her unresponsive, but the medical examiner said the child had not eaten for several hours before she died, reports state.
Betsy weighed 4 pounds and 1 ounce when she died, the report said, which is about half the normal weight for a child her age.
Roy Stephens is not the biological father, but together the couple has a 1-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl who have been in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

 http://www.theledger.com/article/20150116/NEWS/150119537/-1/news300?Title=Grand-Jury-Indicts-Indiana-Couple-in-Starvation-Death-of-Infant-in-Lakeland