Grandmother of starved teen Sabrina Ray sentenced to 20 years in prison

STEPHEN GRUBER-MILLER   | The Des Moines Register

ADEL, Ia. — The adoptive grandmother of a 16-year-old from Perry who starved to death last year admitted she failed to seek medical attention for the dying girl and that she locked her two adopted sisters in the room with her as she died.

Carla Bousman, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent person, accessory after the fact, obstruction of prosecution, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of child endangerment.

Bousman was caring for Sabrina Ray and her two adopted sisters at their home in Perry on May 12, 2017 — the day of Sabrina's death — but she didn't seek medical attention when she realized Sabrina was in distress, she admitted in Dallas County court Friday.

"She had woke up vomiting and had soiled herself and her clothes and I just thought that she wasn’t feeling well and I gave her a shower and cleaned her all up," Bousman said.

Sabrina weighed 56 pounds and was severely malnourished at the time of her death, authorities have said.

Bousman said she confined the two other children in a locked room with Sabrina as she died, limiting their access to food, water and the restroom. She also admitted to concealing evidence from investigators after Sabrina died.

"I wish I could go back to that day and change everything and do what I know was the proper thing to do," Bousman said. "I can’t change what was done now, but I’m very sorry and miss all my grandchildren very much."

Assistant Dallas County Attorney Stacy Ritchie asked that Bousman receive the maximum sentence allowed under the plea deal. She said Bousman was "the last hope that Sabrina Ray had. But for her neglect, Sabrina may have survived."

Dallas County District Court Judge Terry Rickers accepted Bousman's plea Friday and ruled that the sentences for each crime should run consecutively for a total of 20 years — the maximum sentence allowed under the plea deal.

"After hearing what you had to tell the court today, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the maximum sentence in this case is the only appropriate sentence," Rickers said. "Grandmothers are supposed to be special to their grandkids. Grandmas are supposed to spoil their grandkids."

Rickers said Bousman's contact with her grandchildren "was nothing but a nightmare for them."

Bousman had previously pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree kidnapping, child endangerment causing death and obstructing prosecution or defense. She was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charges as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Bousman could have faced multiple life sentences had she been convicted of those offenses — something her attorney, James Nelsen, said played into her decision to seek a plea agreement.

Nelsen said the crimes Bousman pleaded guilty to Friday accurately reflect her role in causing Sabrina's death.

"Ms. Bousman is willing to accept responsibility for what she did and what she failed to do on May 12 of 2017," he said.

Sabrina's adoptive parents, Marc Alan Ray, 41, and Misty Jo Bousman-Ray, 40, face multiple felony charges in Sabrina's abuse and death, including first-degree murder, kidnapping and child endangerment. They have pleaded not guilty and are requesting to have their trial moved out of Dallas County due to extensive publicity.

A trial date has not been set.

The husband and wife, who ran a daycare center they called Rays of Sunshine Daycare, took in Sabrina as a foster child in 2011 and adopted her in 2013.

Sabrina's brother, 22-year-old Justin Ray, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of willful injury and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors said Justin drop-kicked her down a basement staircase, leaving her unable to walk, talk, eat or drink normally.

Josie Raye Bousman, Sabrina's 21-year-old cousin, is charged with three counts of kidnapping, child endangerment causing death and obstructing prosecution. She helped keep Sabrina confined and denied her food and water, according to a criminal complaint.