ADEL — Charges were raised Tuesday to first-degree murder against Marc and Misty Ray, the adoptive parents of Sabrina Ray, 16, who died of severe malnutrition last May in the family’s home in Perry.
Dallas County Assistant Attorney Jeannine Gilmore’s motion for additional counts was accepted by Dallas County District Court Judge Terry Rickers.
Along with the first-degree murder charges against the Rays, Marc Ray, 41, has also been charged with one count of second-degree sexual abuse for a child under 12 and one count of third-degree sexual abuse for a person 12 or 13 years old.
Marc Ray’s new charges are not connected to the starvation death of Sabrina Ray, who weighed just 56 pounds at the time of her death, according to records of the Office of the Iowa State Medical Examiner.
The Rays initially faced several counts of child endangerment and negligence.
The murder charges against the legal guardians of Sabrina Ray has implications for the disposition of her remains, according to experts in mortuary law.
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
Living in New Mexico, I never heard about this story until CNN ran it. We have enough of our own similar stories right here. But I was shocked by the fact that these were adults that qualified to adopt children and run a daycare. You would think being that both of these are regulated by state agencies, someone would have seen the signs of horrific abuse in the evil existence she was given away to live her short life in. I’m sure, as investigations evolve, there will be plenty of finger pointing by all involved. But the bottom line is, once again, state agencies let this child down to the worst degree. I’m not bashing anyone in Iowa. We had one of the most horrific murders of a young girl about the same age that was given crack, raped, murdered, dismembered, and set on fire in her home bathtub, all by her mother and boyfriend. State agencies were called repeatedly before this happened about what was going on in the home. I guess in my 60 years on this planet, I’m about as disgusted as I can be by these stories, and every year there seems to be more children that don’t have the chance to make it to their teen years because of parents or guardians that shouldn’t be left alone with anything that breathes, much less a child. My only comfort is knowing God will be there with open and loving arms for all children that meet an unjustified end.