A couple from Iowa has been convicted in the starvation death of their adopted daughter and they will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
43-year-old Marc Ray was sentenced to 80 years in prison and 41-year-old Misty Jo Bousman Ray was sentenced to a life without parole.
The two were arrested after Sabrina Ray, who was severely malnourished and weighed only 56 pounds, died in May 2017.
Misty Jo pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of third-degree kidnapping involving two other adopted children.
According to the prosecutors, the two girls and another kid also lived with the couple.
Marc Ray pleaded guilty to child endangerment causing death and also three counts of third-degree kidnapping.
“Sabrina lies there, malnourished, emaciated, diaper-clad, covered in various wounds and bruises. Her rash and skin barely cover her skeleton,” Judge Terry Ricker said.
“Mr. Ray and Mrs. Ray, your actions and your treatments of your daughters in this case could be fairly described as both cruel and evil.”
Misty Ray and Marc sat less than ten feet apart as prosecutors listed all their crimes.
“Rather than love and care for these girls, the defendant locked them in a room, starved them, abused them, pitted them against each other, denied them basic necessities and used them as slave labor,” said prosecutor Stacy Ritchie.
The other adopted children gave statements through representatives. One victim impact statement read: “You should have fed me. You should have given me something to drink.”
Both defendants broke down in tears but only the woman apologized publicly.
“It was my responsibility to protect and love our children and not cause them pain,” she said. “I failed as their mother.
“All of this is my fault, and I want our children to know that they did nothing wrong. They were good kids who deserve better. I am so sorry.”
One wrote to Rays: “Now it’s your turn to be locked up.”
“While they will live with long-lasting injuries, the girls are grateful for Sabrina’s sacrifice ‘so they could live’,” said Assistant County Attorney Stacy Ritchie.
Sabrina’s adoptive grandmother, 63-year-old Carla Bousman, also pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent person and two counts of child endangerment. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Sabrina’s 22-year-old brother, Justin Ray, was sentenced to ten years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of willful injury. Her 21-year-old cousin, Josie Raye Bousman, was charged with three counts of kidnapping.
Misty Ray and Marc even ran a daycare center called Rays of Sunshine Daycare and they adopted Sabrina in 2013.
Police found her adopted sisters in the room with her dead body.
“It is hard to put into words the feelings that come over me — the smells, the pain, the anguish, the fear and the evil,” said Officer Josh Sienkiewicz.
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