Ruby and Roy Stephens face first-degree murder charges for the death of Ruby's 22-day-old daughter, who investigators believe was starved to death. If convicted, the couple can serve a life sentence or face the death penalty.
BY Alejandro Alba
BY Alejandro Alba
HANDOUT/Reuters
Ruby Stephens, 23, charged with first-degree murder for neglecting her daughter Betsy Kee Stephens. Medical examiners say the the 22-day-old baby was starved to death.
Lakeland, Fla., police have a charged a couple from Indiana with first-degree murder for starving their 22-day-old daughter to death.
Ruby, 23, and Roy Stephens, 48, were coming from Indiana to visit relatives in Florida when they noticed that the feet of their baby, Betsy Kee Stephens, were cold. The couple covered them with a blanket and left to go eat at Golden Corral.
Upon arriving at the restaurant the couple noticed their baby was unresponsive and called 911.
When the medical response team arrived, Betsy was already dead. The investigation revealed that she hadn't been fed and that she was starved to death. Betsy weighed about four pounds, which was half of what she should've weighed. Lakeland, Fla., police have a charged a couple from Indiana with first-degree murder for starving their 22-day-old daughter to death.
Ruby, 23, and Roy Stephens, 48, were coming from Indiana to visit relatives in Florida when they noticed that the feet of their baby, Betsy Kee Stephens, were cold. The couple covered them with a blanket and left to go eat at Golden Corral.
Upon arriving at the restaurant the couple noticed their baby was unresponsive and called 911.
Ruby and Roy, who is not the biological father, claimed to have fed the baby several times on their way to Florida, according to police. Medical examiners said that there was hardly any food in the baby's body and declared the death a homicide.
"It's very apparent — it would be very apparent to anyone who saw the photographs — that this did not occur overnight or in days," said Assistant Police Chief Mike Link in a press conference. "In my opinion this child suffered from day one of birth to the time that she passed away."
HANDOUT/Reuters
Roy Stephens, 48, was also charged with first-degree murder of the 22-day-old baby who was found starved to death. Police said that Roy is not the biological father.
