South Carolina child injury and wrongful death lawyers report that the Sumter couple that starved their 16-month-old son to death will serve over 20 years behind bars. Marketta McCray, 24 years old of Sumter county, and Kevin Isaac, 26 years old also from Sumter county, both pled guilty to homicide by child abuse Monday, March 1, 2010.
When the couple’s 16-month-old son died he did not even weight 9 pounds, which is half the average body weight for a child his age. After learning of the child’s death and malnourishment, authorities investigated the couple’s other children. The victim also had a twin brother, which authorities discovered was also severely malnourished. McCray and Isaac’s three older children were healthy.
When the couple appeared in court, lawyers asked them why their two youngest children, twins, were starved. The couple told the judge and the court that they did not know why. The judge sentenced Marketta McCray, the mother, to 29 years in prison and Kevin Isaac, the father, to 25 years in prison.
According to the 2007 Kids Count state profiles of child well-being administered by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, South Carolina ranked 46th in the nation in the overall-well being of children. The latest statistic sheet released by the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, reported 16,898 cases of child abuse. This number is expected to have tippled in size, making it closer to 50, 694 cases.
Source: The Post and Courier- “Sumter couple get more than 20 years in starving death.” March 2, 2010.