Starved teen's parents charged with 1st-degree murder, dad charged with sexual abuse

LINH TA   | The Des Moines Register

Misty and Marc Ray, the parents of 16-year-old Sabrina Ray are facing first-degree murder charges after the Perry teen starved to death, according to court records.

Additionally, Marc Ray was charged with two counts of sexual abuse — third degree, according to court records. The abuse allegedly occurred in January 2009 and December 2016 with a child under 12 in 

The parents are also charged with three counts of first-degree kidnapping.

Misty Ray, 40, and her husband, Marc Ray, 41, took in Sabrina as a foster child in 2011 and adopted her in 2013. They are charged in her death and face multiple felonies after the malnourished 16-year-old was found unresponsive May 12 at their home in Perry, according to Perry police.

On the evening Sabrina was found dead at home, Josie Bousman, 20, Sabrina's cousin, was in charge of Sabrina and two other children. Before calling the police, she called her grandmother, Carla Bousman, 62, of Perry, to help her revive Sabrina, according to court documents.

When they realized she had died, they called her parents, Misty and Marc. Emergency dispatchers were called 10 minutes later, according to the documents.

At the time of the call, Misty and Marc were in Nashville, Tennessee, along with their son, Justin Ray.

Justin Ray, 21, has been charged with two counts of child endangerment and two counts of willful injury after "drop-kicking" Sabrina down a basement staircase sometime between April 15 and May 1, police have said.

Sabrina's adoptive grandmother, Carla Bousman, was charged with first-degree kidnapping, child endangerment causing death and obstructing prosecution or defense for allegedly altering evidence at the crime scene and providing false evidence.

Josie Bousman has been charged after she allegedly admitted she helped injure Sabrina, helped keep her confined and denied her food and water, according to the complaint.

Marc and Misty Ray also operated a daycare outside of their home. Parents who brought their kids to the daycare said Sabrina Ray was so small, they believed she was only 8. At the time of her death, she weighed 56 pounds, according to an autopsy report.

A trial won't likely happen until 2018, due to the extensive amount of evidence in the case.