Iowa couple who starved their adopted daughter, 16, to death are jailed for life as court hears how she was found 'emaciated, diaper-clad and covered in bruises' by police
- Misty Jo Bousman Ray was sentenced to life in prison and her husband Marc Ray was sentenced to 80 years over the death of their adopted daughter Sabrina
- She was found dead at their home in Perry, Iowa, on May 12 and weighed just 56lbs - the same weight as a healthy 7-year-old
- Her adoptive grandmother, Carla Bousman, 63, was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent person
- Also charged were her cousin Josie Raye Bousman, 20, and brother, Justin Dale Ray, 21, who allegedly 'drop-kicked' her down stairs
- An officer called the home 'the most horrific scene in my entire career and life' when he discovered Sabrina's lifeless body in a room with her adopted sisters
- One of the girls said the couple caused her so much trauma she still 'has flashbacks and nightmares'
An Iowa couple convicted in the starvation death of their 16-year-old adopted daughter will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison.
A judge sentenced 41-year-old Misty Jo Bousman Ray to a life sentence without the possibility of parole and her husband, 43-year-old Marc Ray, to 80 years in prison.
They were arrested following the May 2017 death of Sabrina Ray, who weighed only 56 pounds and was severely malnourished when she died.
Misty Jo Bousman Ray pleaded guilty January 9 to one count of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of third-degree kidnapping involving two other adopted children who lived at her Perry home.
A judge sentenced Misty Jo Bousman Ray (left) to a life sentence without the possibility of parole and her husband Marc Ray (right) to 80 years in prison
Sabrina Ray, (pictured), who weighed only 56 pounds, was severely malnourished when she died
Prosecutors said the two girls and a third child who also lived with the Rays, a boy, are now thriving.
Marc Ray pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment causing death and three counts of third-degree kidnapping.
Judge Terry Rickers recounted disturbing details in a Dallas County courtroom as he handed down sentences to the couple, Des Moines Register reported.
'Sabrina lies there, malnourished, emaciated, diaper-clad, covered in various wounds and bruises. Her rash and skin barely cover her skeleton.
Judge Rickers added: 'Mr. Ray and Mrs. Ray, your actions and your treatments of your daughters in this case could be fairly described as both cruel and evil.'
Marc and Misty Ray sat less than 10 feet apart as prosecutors listed their crimes.
'Rather than love and care for these girls, the defendant locked them in a room, starved them, abused them, pitted them against each other, denied them basic necessities and used them as slave labor,' prosecutor Stacy Ritchie said.
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The other adopted children delivered victim impact statements though representatives.
'You should have fed me,' one victim impact statement read. 'You should have given me something to drink.'
Both defendants broke down in tears during the sentencing but only Misty Ray chose to publicly apologize.
'It was my responsibility to protect and love our children and not cause them pain', she said. 'I failed as their mother.'
'All of this is my fault, and I want our children to know that they did nothing wrong. They were good kids who deserve better. I am so sorry.'
Family members cried in court as Judge Terry Rickers recounted disturbing details about Sabrina's death
Some family members cried in the gallery as the statements told horrors of abuse and neglect; one of the children wrote about wanting to kill herself.
One of the girls said in a statement: 'You caused so much trauma that I have flashbacks and nightmares.
'I have cut myself; I have run away; I have tried to tie shoestrings around my neck.'
Saying she and her siblings were never let out into the world, one girl wrote to the Rays: 'Now it’s your turn to be locked up.'
Prosecutors said the two girls and a third child who lived with the Rays, a boy, are now thriving.
Misty Jo Bousman Ray wipes a tear as she listens to victim impact statements in court
Marc Ray wipes his nose as he listens to victim impact statements prior to being sentenced
While they will live with long-lasting injuries, the girls are grateful for Sabrina’s sacrifice 'so they could live', Assistant County Attorney Stacy Ritchie said.
Each parent will be ordered to pay restitution, including $150,000 both to the heirs of Sabrina.
Several family members were also accused of assisting in the abuse of Sabrina Ray.
Sabrina's brother, Justin Ray, 22, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of willful injury and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors said he drop-kicked Sabrina down a basement staircase, leaving her unable to walk, talk, eat or drink normally.
Sabrina's adoptive grandmother, Carla Bousman, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent person and two counts of child endangerment, among other charges.
Judge Terry Rickers holds up a photo of Sabrina Ray prior to handing down sentences to her adoptive parents
Sabrina's adoptive brother 21-year-old Justin Dale Ray (left), grandmother Carla Bousman, 62 (center), and cousin Josie Raye Bousman, 20 (right) were charged in connection with the case
Prosecutors initially accused her of assisting in Sabrina's kidnapping and torturing before helping cover up her death.
Josie Raye Bousman, Sabrina's 21-year-old cousin, was charged with three counts of kidnapping, child endangerment causing death and obstructing prosecution.
Marc and Misty Ray, who ran a daycare center they called Rays of Sunshine Daycare at 1708 First Avenue in Perry, took in Sabrina as a foster child in 2011 and adopted her in 2013.
Officers found her adopted sisters in the room with her lifeless body when they arrived at the home.
In a report briefly unsealed in December, an officer called the home 'the most horrific scene in my entire career and life.'
Officer Josh Sienkiewicz said: 'It is hard to put into words the feelings that come over me — the smells, the pain, the anguish, the fear and the evil.'
In a statement, the new adoptive mother of one of the girls called Misty Ray a failed mother.
The woman said she hoped Misty thought daily about Sabrina and the milestones she would never see.
'You have earned the term monster,' she said. 'The remaining children, including my daughter, that were tortured in your care, have earned the term survivor.'
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