Sabrina Ray case: Father pleads guilty to 4 felonies in teen's death

ALEX IVANISEVIC   | The Des Moines Register

ADEL, Ia. — The adoptive father of an Iowa teen who died of starvation pleaded guilty Friday to four felony charges in connection with the death.

Marc Ray, 43, had been charged with first-degree murder, along with other offenses. If convicted, he would have been sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

Ray instead agreed with prosecutors to plead guilty to child endangerment resulting in death and three counts of third-degree kidnapping — one for each of the three children he cared for and illegally confined, prosecutors said.

Ray will be sentenced Jan. 11. One charge is punishable by up to 50 years in prison, and the other two by up to 10 years.

His wife, Misty, is still scheduled to stand trial on murder and other charges next year.

Marc Ray became choked up at Friday's hearing at the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel as he admitted to not obtaining medical treatment for Sabrina, who was 16 years old and weighed 56 pounds when she died.

Ray also admitted locking three of his adoptive children in a room and covering the windows, making it impossible for them to get out and for anyone on the outside to see in.

Sabrina Ray was adopted out of foster care and home-schooled. She was found unresponsive at the home at 1708 First Ave. in Perry on the evening of May 12, 2017.

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

Eugene Busch, Sabrina's biological grandfather, said after Marc Ray's hearing Friday that he believes Justin's actions led to Sabrina's demise and wishes "more would have been done for the son's (sentence)." 

Marc Ray and his wife, Misty Jo Bousman-Ray, 41, had pleaded not guilty to charges of ongoing criminal conduct, first-degree theft and first-degree fraudulent practice in May 2018. Those charges followed prosecutors accusing the couple of engaging in "deception for financial gain on an ongoing basis." 

The couple operated a daycare center they called Rays of Sunshine Daycare. They took Sabrina in as a foster child in 2011 and adopted her in 2013.

Rays of Sunshine Daycare was visited by state inspectors and social workers in from 2013 to 2015 and again in 2017 after at least two complaints were lodged against the home. Workers who visited reported no evidence of abuse at the time.