A medical examiner ruled that Betsey had died from "starvation due to neglect," with the autopsy finding that she weighed in at just over four pounds and had lost 2.5 pounds since birth.
A baby who was just 22 days old was left in a car seat to starve to death as her parents enjoyed a buffet meal at a Golden Corral restaurant.
Betsey Kee Stephens weighed in at just four pounds when she was discovered strapped in a car in central Florida “unresponsive and cold,” according to a Mirror.co.uk report. Authorities charged 23-year-old Ruby Stephens and 48-year-old Roy Stephens with first-degree murder. Roy Stephens is not the biological father of the girl.
The baby was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police say the parents were eating at a Golden Corral, which is a chain of restaurants that touts its “endless buffet.”
A medical examiner ruled that Betsey had died from “starvation due to neglect,” with the autopsy finding that she weighed in at just over four pounds and had lost 2.5 pounds since birth. A normal weight at her age would have been about eight pounds.
The baby was also dehydrated and may not have been for up to seven hours before she died, prompting the local assistant police chief to call pictures of the child “absolutely horrible,” and that she suffered “tremendously” during her 22 days of life.
According to the report, Ruby Stephens told police she had been breast-feeding the child regularly, but after learning of the autopsy’s findings, she admitted that she hadn’t done so because during their road trip, traffic prevented them from exiting the highway to feed the baby.
She also indicated that the baby had shown some health problems but she missed an appointment to have her examined before they took their trip.
The couple is from Indiana and were traveling with two other children, who are ages 1 and 2. They appeared to be healthy and are currently in protective custody.
The mother claimed that the baby’s feet were cold when she checked them on Dec. 23 after arriving at a hotel, prompting her to cover them with a blanket.
It was when she returned to her car after eating at Golden Corral that she found the baby unresponsive and “cold to the touch,” according to the report.
Leave a Reply