Lakeland Police have arrested the parents of a 22-day-old baby girl on murder charges, after a medical examiner said the infant died from malnutrition as a result of starvation. Investigators say Betsey Kee Stephens died while in the custody of her parents, Roy Allen Stephens, 48, and Ruby Angeline Stephens, 23, who had called 911 about their infant after they arrived at a Lakeland Golden Corral restaurant to eat.
Police say a preliminary investigation indicates the baby was deceased for at least 3 ½ hours prior to the mother calling 911. An arrest affidavit said the infant had lost 2 lbs. 9 ounces from the time of her birth 22 days earlier to her death.
It's a case rocking the department emotionally. Assistant Chief Mike Link said when he saw the photos of the baby, it “rocked me to my core. In my 30 years I've never seen anything like that,” Link said. Lakeland Police Officers responded to assist emergency medical crews with a call regarding an unresponsive infant at the Golden Corral restaurant at 4705 U.S. Hwy 98 North at 6:10 p.m. on December 23.
The baby's parents told authorities they discovered their baby in the car seat unresponsive and they called 911. Roy and Ruby Stephens, 23, told investigators they traveled from Indiana to visit family in the area and had checked into the Comfort Inn at 3520 U.S. Hwy 98 North in Lakeland.
The mother told police that she had checked the infant's feet and they appeared to be cold so she covered the baby's feet with a blanket. After checking into the hotel, they drove to the Golden Corral restaurant to meet and eat with family members. After arriving at the Golden Corral, the mother checked the infant's feet again and noticed her feet were unusually cold and she got no response from the infant.
At this time, the parents called 911. The Lakeland Fire Department and Polk County Fire Rescue responded and the baby was transported to the Lakeland Regional Medical Center. She was later declared deceased at LRMC.
“Little Betsey had no chance of survival,” Sgt. Gary Gross said. “We're not talking a matter of hours we're talking a matter of days this child was starved.”
Police say the baby's siblings, a 1-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl were sitting in their car seats and both appeared to be in good health. They are now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Lakeland Police released the Stephens' arrest affidavit during a news conference on Tuesday morning. The affidavit included information from the medical examiner, who performed an autopsy on the baby and said the infant's weight at death was 4 lbs and 1 ounce. She weighed 6 lbs. and 10 ounces when she was born. The M.E. said the normal weight for a baby her age would be 8 lbs.
The M.E. also said in the affidavit that the infant had not been fed prior to her death.
"Through examining the victim's digestive system, it was discovered that the victim had not been fed for approximately 6 to 7 hours prior to her death, being that there was no food in her stomach and large intestines, only a small amount of feces was present in the small intestines. It was also noted that the victim was dehydrated," said the M.E. in the arrest affidavit.
The M.E. also listed the baby's cause of death was "starvation due to neglect" and that the manner of death was "homicide.”
The affidavit also included information that the couple told police. Roy Allen Stephens told police that when the family was driving to Florida, they stopped every 30 minutes to an hour to let the kids use the restroom and feed the baby if necessary. He said the baby would cry to let them know she was hungry and they would pull over and feed her promptly. He said they stopped one hour before reaching Lakeland and the baby was in good health.
Ruby Angeline Stephens told police that she breast fed the baby every 2-3 hours.
Lakeland Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit investigated the case. LPD announced on Monday that they were investigating the death of the child as a homicide.
.
