Baby girl 'starves to death' in car as parents visit American buffet restaurant
Source: Independent
Baby girl 'starves to death' in car as parents visit American buffet restaurant
Jon Stone
Wednesday 31 December 2014
A baby girl was found to have died of starvation as her parents drove to a buffet restaurant, according to officials in the US state of Florida.
Betsey Kee Stephens was strapped into her seat in her parents car, which was parked outside the Golden Corral chain restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.
The baby weighed 2.75kg when she was born on 1 December, but only 1.84kg, less than two bags of sugar, when she died.
The childs weight was around half that of a healthy child of that age.
The babys parents, Ruby Angeline Stephens, 23, and Roy Allen Stephens, 48, have been charged with first-degree murder and are being held by police, according to local newspaper the Orlando Sentinel.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/baby-girl-starves-to-death-in-car-as-parents-visit-american-buffet-restaurant-9951516.html
[center]
Roy Allen Stephens, 48, and Ruby Angeline Stephens, 23. (Polk Co. Jail)[/center]
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)And he certainly doesn't look starved-or even hungry.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)I normally oppose capital punishment, but I'd make an exception in this instance.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Would that really make you feel better?
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)You don't even know what actually happened yet and yet you are ready to pronounce a death sentence upon them?
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)The last refuge of the self-righteous: "You don't even know what actually happened yet".
MyNameGoesHere
(7,638 posts)Well let's kill this time only. Although I oppose death penalty.
lisby
(408 posts)retaliatory violence is the first refuge of the ignorant.
JDDavis
(725 posts)She has two other healthy children, the article implies.
If convicted, she faces jail time so those other kids will be "without a mother". Indeed, they are "without a mother" now, as she was arrested and the children were placed in alternative care.
My questions center around a mother of 3, at 23 years old, married to a man of 48, more than twice her age, and she is a mother of 3 children, one of which children, the dead one, was not "fathered" by the 23 year-old's 48 year old husband. There is a lot of questions that come to my mind over a "family" with these dynamics.
And who intentionally leaves ANY infant of one month in a car seat alone while one goes in a restaurant to eat a meal? That, in and of itself, is serious child neglect, and bordering upon abuse.
I say leave mom and step dad in prison pending trial. Let the facts come out in a trial.
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)It seems that there are frequent stories of boyfriends and new husbands murdering the woman's children by other men, and even women murdering their own children by an "ex" when they enter into a new relationship. Wasn't there a story yesterday about a 2-year-old boy murdered in Ohio? It's just so awful.
JDDavis
(725 posts)The husband is 48, married to a woman of 23 and that woman has a baby less than one month old.
We can imagine all sorts of things but we don't really know what are the key facts here.
I think if one listens carefully to the law enforcement news conference video at the Yahoo News link, (cited elsewhere on this thread), police officials acknowledge that the other two older children are products of this marriage. So the newborn is not and that is what we know. Obviously, also, we know that the entire family traveled together from Indiana to Florida during the first days of this newborn's life, stepfather, biological mother, and 3 children.
From the remarks at the news conference, the newborn was found to be in absolutely abominable condition, with the most likely cause of death stated by the autopsy report as severe malnutrition, something that does not happen from a few hours of not being fed, but more likely from his entire short life after birth. That is the reason for the severity of the murder charges.
We don't know what is or are "the key facts".
LisaL
(44,973 posts)the infidelity (which apparently resulted in this child) put a strain on the marriage, and that husband didn't pay much attention to the baby. Provides the two of them with a motive for why this child was cared for differently than the other two.
tabasco
(22,974 posts)somehow.
JDDavis
(725 posts)I suggest a very dysfunctional family, headed by two seriously sick sociopath parents who let a defenseless newborn starve to death instead of seek alternative solutions.
Live with that.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)Cal33
(7,018 posts)maddiemom
(5,106 posts)Cal33
(7,018 posts)maddiemom
(5,106 posts)(but didn't do a "sarcasm" icon). I didn't get you. You're honestly wondering if a fetus aborted in the early months might suffer as much or more than an existing, starved child?
Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)Laffy Kat
(16,383 posts)Sometimes things are so horrible you have to rant. Give 'em a break. The story is infuriating.
7962
(11,841 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)To avenge means to punish with the intent of seeing justice done.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)... I can understand why people do support it, especially in cases like this one. There is no human being more loathesome than one who would knowingly harm a child.
KinMd
(966 posts)I'd feel good also
NobodyHere
(2,810 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Oh, wait-- that might prevent a snap judgment! Never mind....
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"that might prevent a snap judgment! Never mind..."
A snap judgement such as reasoning someone should be beat to death? Or a different snap judgement...?
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Have a nice day.
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)I'm pretty sure it'd make a whole lot of us feel better.
(Not that that's any way to run a country, but just calling 'em as I see 'em)
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)but any exceptions such as this means you support the death penalty. Opposition to capital punishment is either absolute or it is qualified support.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)... an understanding of the feelings of those who are pro-capital punishment. I remain unalterably opposed to it.
onenote
(42,714 posts)Not merely that you understand why someone might express the view you expressed in your post calling for them to beaten to death.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Must be nice (or not) to be so emotionally bland.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)And we always get called on it here. Nothing wrong with that.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Carry on.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)Cases like this are tragic and depressing
HeiressofBickworth
(2,682 posts)than what was reported in the article: "The mother said she "strictly breastfed" the baby every two to three hours, but local medical examiners said the child had not eaten for between six and seven hours before it died."
Babies don't get to be half normal weight in only 6 to 7 hours. There's more to this story than is being reported. These fucks rarely fed the poor baby, hence, the low weight and time since last feeding.
Jail time -- oh, yes, jail time. No probation. She could get pregnant again and do it to another baby.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)or numerous other problems that the mother was ignorant to. The fact is, we simply don't know.
Chemisse
(30,813 posts)It happens, and the parents are often blamed.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)but this needs to be hashed out in the courts. Until then the state has made the right decision.
newfie11
(8,159 posts)Hopefully they had a pediatrician for the baby.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)We know that a forensic pathologist performed an autopsy to determine both the cause and manner of death (this is a law in all 50 states for virtually all suspicious, non-hospital deaths of children under 2 years of age), and we know that charges of murder have been filed against the mother and her husband. No prosecutor is going to file murder charges against anyone in this situation unless his own medical expert witness, the pathologist, lists the manner of death as 'homicide'.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)and had they done that, they certainly would have records to show having sought treatment.
Warpy
(111,270 posts)The use of a car seat says they cared. Otherwise, they'd just have left the baby in a crib at home while they went to the restaurant.
I'm guessing something besides neglect was at work here.
Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Just saying we don't know enough to judge yet.
riversedge
(70,242 posts)Generally I do not think like this but for them to do this to a helpless infant is the lowest of the low!. The 'father' looks well fed.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)JI7
(89,251 posts)Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Police said the couple from Tennyson, Indiana, were traveling with two other children, ages 1 and 2. Both appeared healthy and have been taken into protective custody.
http://news.yahoo.com/baby-found-starved-death-florida-parents-charged-murder-181716418.html;_ylt=A0SO8wq2K6VUDk0AkDxXNyoA
LisaL
(44,973 posts)"The "infidelity" that resulted in her pregnancy and Betsey's birth placed a strain on their marriage, Ruby Angeline Stephens told police, according to her arrest report. She said her husband didn't pay much attention to the baby."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-baby-starved-death-golden-corral-20141230-story.html
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)riversedge
(70,242 posts)much accountable as the woman (the mother) was since he was with her.
7962
(11,841 posts)Response to Judi Lynn (Original post)
Live and Learn This message was self-deleted by its author.
giftedgirl77
(4,713 posts)Last edited Fri Jan 2, 2015, 07:14 AM - Edit history (3)
Stay away from it.The article says the infant had also been dead for a while when they finally checked up on her as she was already cold to the touch. There was obviously some major issues going on her.
For the sarcasmingly challenged, I added the icon.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Good gawd, I can hardly believe this is DU.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)this baby did not die overnight. At the very least, something was not done that needed to be done. Now, let's take the best scenario, that both of these parents did not try to hurt the kid. The fact they left the kid in the CAR shows neglect. I live near this area, and I can tell you that you do not leave DOGS in Florida cars. Golden Corral has baby seats, heaven knows when I eat there there are usally several babies there, being fed their first bit of solid food. The idea that they would just go to a restaurant, not even try to find a sitter, and just leave a kid in a CAR shows neglect. As I said, you are not allowed to do that to a DOG here, because lo and behold, there were tons of dead dogs, which hit the news.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)and without all the facts.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)JDDavis
(725 posts)No one should do that in any state, for more than a moment or two.
This alone is a sign of severe neglect.
Supposedly this infant was being breast fed. What sane breast-feeding mother leaves her infant out of her sight for more than a moment when out of the house? Mothers of tiny infants usually dont' want to be apart from their small child for any time at all, if they can help it, let alone leaving the kid in the car while eating at a restaurant.
Something is very crazy about the actions of these parents, particularly the action of a breast-feeding mother of the age of 23.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)You do not leave DOGS in cars here. These folks watched the same local tv I did, which emphasized you do not so much as leave dogs here in cars, much less children. While we may not have ALL the facts, there is enough to not concern and at the very least, bad behavior. It is one thing not to rush to judgment, for all we know, someone could have been under duress, however, leaving a baby strapped in a car, in a restaurant that I know has plenty of baby seats (again, it attracts many people who go there for that very reason) is behavior that yes, is bad, and does deserve at the very least, boos.
giftedgirl77
(4,713 posts)You would have noted that the child was already cold to the touch by the time her "parents" found her, thus indicating that she had been dead for quite a few hours. This in itself kind of screws up the mother's story that she was feeding her every 2-3 hours.
Not to mention once a child is born they are seen in the dr office within the first couple of weeks of birth specifically to monitor body weight & ensure issues such as failure to thrive aren't happening. This baby was barely 1 month old & had lost that much weight which would have sent up tons of red flags with a dr, there may be a very good chance a dr wasn't seen which brings up even more negligence issues especially with the excessive weight loss.
blackcrow
(156 posts)you assume they had the money or insurance to go to a doctor.
I'd also say, from the articles, barely enough of an IQ with either of them to be functional.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)I have worked with developmentally disabled adults for many years and I have only known one who ever owned a car and he lost it soon after because he was a bad driver. So their IQ may be low but not so low they are not functional.
I am interested in hearing what the facts here are when this goes to trial. Poor little one.
giftedgirl77
(4,713 posts)They do that for kids in this country so the don't die over bullshit.
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)My first born great daughter was a preemie. When she was released from the hospital, she had go to the doctor to be checked every day until she reached the recommended weight for her age and measurements. Now she is a thriving little 18 month old, a delight!
In this Florida situation, sounds like many factors; something seriously wrong with baby, Mother either not bright or just plain neglectful and some conflict from husband because it was not his baby. Not a cut and dried matter.
LisaL
(44,973 posts)Baby was born at 6 lb.
So she was at normal birth weight.
Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)leaving a kid strapped in a car while you eat at a restaurant that is known for having lots of baby seats. That is a FACT that even these two ADMIT they did.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)I didn't say that what they did was okay. I just think it is ridiculous to pretend to know why they did it based on so little information.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)but it does show a course of action that at the very least, we need to discurage because it can kill kids.
Also, as far as facts go, I know the area, I know the golden corral. Considering that is it almost impossible to eat there without tons of kids, there was no reason to leave the kid in the car. If it was a fancy place like Bern's steak House (pretty much the closest Tampa will ever get to a michelin star) yes, but not a place that is known to have tons of those ultra firm, ultra strong, baby chairs so that they can get the kids to eat their first mac and cheese.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)I was responding to the meth diagnosis, period.
Response to Live and Learn (Reply #90)
giftedgirl77 This message was self-deleted by its author.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Response to giftedgirl77 (Reply #12)
ProudToBeBlueInRhody This message was self-deleted by its author.
secondvariety
(1,245 posts)halfwits are too stupid to live. Put them someplace and never let them out.
turbinetree
(24,703 posts)Since they both have no feelings for a life and feel that it is appropriate to gorge themselves at a buffet, give the same amount of food they gave to the innocent baby first and then sterilize them both and if and when they get out of PRISON, they cannot be around or adopt any other living being, and if they don't get out--------- rot in jail
TNNurse
(6,927 posts)"well we really do not know what happened", but if that infant was in the car alone, we know they are guilty of that and that is enough to convict them of abuse and neglect. No one should ever do that, ever.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)exboyfil
(17,863 posts)we did not know what we are doing. Of course the hospital rushed my wife and daughter out the door even though our daughter was a little undersized (not like this poor baby). We would have resorted to formula and definitely gone back to the nurse pract. if it was not for a helpful neighbor/fellow church member who was also a nurse. She showed my wife how you touch the baby's tongue to trigger a sucking response. Worked like a charm.
We have to wait for additional details, but leaving a newborn in a car seat alone for anytime??? That alone reflects an abusive parent.
It says starvation. If she was breastfeeding then dehydration could also be causal. Also of course even in the winter time in Florida cars are going to get very hot so you have the possibility of hyperthermia.
I can't understand people. Since my daughters have been born, my first response has always been to physically protect them.
JDDavis
(725 posts)The Yahoo News link posted here has a fifteen minute news conference video.
http://news.yahoo.com/baby-found-starved-death-florida-parents-charged-murder-181716418.html;_ylt=A0SO8wq2K6VUDk0AkDxXNyoA
The opinion of the police investigators is that this child had been starved since the day of birth.
The mother "didn't have time" to go see a doctor for a checkup; her own words at an interview.
The baby was only 22 days old, found dead on December 23, date of birth Dec 1.
The weight loss was over 2 pounds since birth. The condition of the infant's body sickened the investigator.
This was no simple "failure to thrive". The mother also has two other "healthy" young children.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)milk. If they did not go back to the doctor then she would not have known that the child was not getting any milk. Having said that she would certainly know that the child was crying and unsatisfied and losing weight.
Real problems in this family.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)I had that problem with my daughter, too, but supplemented with formula. She lost a tiny bit of weight when she came home from the hospital, but gained it back quickly. She grew normally.
Leaving the baby in the car however is a criminal act. Sad story. The suffering of that poor child. This is why abortion must remain legal, accessible and affordable.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)did not want her?
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)This baby would have gone to a very good home, and could have had a great chance at a good life.
Instead, this child appears to have been neglected and starved to death because her mother was married to someone other than her biological father, IMHO.
Truly sickening.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)Once he's out of circulation, they can start offering all-you-can-eat buffets again.
lisby
(408 posts)I'm not excusing this couple in the slightest. I'm just very, very tired of the hatred. If you had just said the dude looked like a closeted queer or something else similar, you'd be called to task for it. But hating heavy people is still perfectly okay here. Sad.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)a baby to death.
You do realize the difference, don't you? That the fat person involved made sure *he* got more than his share of food, while leaving a helpless, totally dependent baby to starve.
JDDavis
(725 posts)And therefore, it's not "sad". It is a horrendous irony and literally criminal
Forty-eight year old is obviously well-fed. Defenseless newborn infant: dead of malnutrition.
tiptonic
(765 posts)The death penalty would be a just end for these two. There is no way to bring that baby back but it would stop those two from having anymore.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)Folks for a good old "instant Internet hanging after a one article trial" go to the armed camp on the right, those "defending and apologizing" for them go to the armed camp on the left.
Lob away, No Man's Land is in between, where the criminal law resides, do not go there.
Really? Dealing more death is the answer?
Really?
shenmue
(38,506 posts)TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)sounds like she barely gave a shit about the baby at all, and the man even less (wasn't his, after all). Just sad.
rjsquirrel
(4,762 posts)The picture says "meth" to me.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)wendylaroux
(2,925 posts)make you not care what happens to YOU,you also don't care what happens to your baby.Tragic and sickening.
My 2c worth.
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,868 posts)Not everyone with a mental illness is a sociopath. Stop stigmatizing mental illness.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)JDDavis
(725 posts)would be more than too generous for these two sociopaths, but
I don't want any of our states in the nation to be as guilty as these two sociopaths are, by killing another human being. A mother who lets her child die of malnutrition is not going to be treated very kindly in a woman's prison, where so many women serve out terms of tens of years separated from their own children.
This woman and the man she is married to are probably just as despicable as any rapist/murderer our society ever produces. But I'm solidly and forever against imposition of the death penalty, and this mother will suffer even more than death by being sentenced to live another 50-60 years in a women's prison.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)They claim that traffic prevented them from getting off the highway to feed the child.
Bullshit.
JDDavis
(725 posts)Does a nursing mother drive and nurse at the same time?
Can't stepdad drive? Is he too big around the middle to sit behind the wheel?
In all my driving on interstates between the Midwest, (Indiana area) to Florida, I seldom see a stretch of road where 30 minutes doesn't bring a driver to another McDonald's and/or a parking lot.
I concur with the opinion of investigators and autopsy physician: this newborn infant was systematically starved of nutrition from day one after her birth.
Even most criminal house invaders/rapists/murderers do not have a heart to kill a newborn infant.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)The mother initially told police that she had been breast-feeding the baby every few hours. But after police told her about the autopsy's findings, she acknowledged that the baby likely had not been fed for much of their day-long road trip, with highway traffic making it difficult to exit to feed her.
The mother later told police that the infant had shown signs of health issues, but she had missed an appointment to have her weight checked before the Florida trip.
http://935dukefm.com/news/articles/2014/dec/30/baby-found-starved-to-death-in-florida-parents-charged-with-murder-police/
JDDavis
(725 posts)I have seldom seen a nursing mother, either in prison or out or in "normal" life where that mother did not want to have that baby close to her for the first 3-6 weeks of life, other than when the baby was asleep.
Mothers want and need that, (yes mothers and babies "need" that, for the milk production, the feeling of the bond actually stimulates glands to produce more milk, etc., there's studies of mothers who have to go back to work and be separate from their newborn, milk production really does drop-off a bit without that close contact.)
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)That tendency that puts the welfare of the child above all else.
Amazingly sad, isn't it?
JDDavis
(725 posts)Cares more about the self than anyone else on the planet.
But didn't this mother give birth to the other two kids and do okay nursing and raising them to 2-1 years old, nutrition-wise?
Of course we don't know the facts yet, but those 2 other kids must be neglected, too, in some ways, already.
They will need help becoming full and happy kids able to grow up. And imagine the shock for a 2-year-old of losing your mom and dad both on one day because your baby sister is dead. Crazy family, all I can say.
NickB79
(19,253 posts)From personal experience, postpartum depression is a horrible, horrible thing to deal with.
jdenver_2624
(50 posts)Just seeing their faces makes me want to throw up. Lock them both up for a long time, and be sure to keep any children far away from them.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)The husband looks like one mean motherfucker and as a couple looking at them together I just scratch my head. The girl is less than half his age and looks like she could be quite pretty if she wasn't posing for a police photo.
I can't imagine that it was a happy marriage and I wonder if perhaps there was some abuse on the part of the husband. It would be interesting to see how this plays out.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)....you win again.
1step
(380 posts)"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!"