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SAD: Baby Starves To Death While Parents Were Out At ‘All You Can Eat Buffet’ (PHOTOS)

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Baby 'starved to death as parents ate at endless buffet'
Betsey Kee Stephens was found dead in her parents’ car

The parents of a 22-day-old baby found starved to death in Florida have been charged with first-degree murder, police said on Tuesday, accusing them of neglecting the suffering infant.

Ruby Stephens, 23, and Roy Stephens, 48, of Indiana were eating at a an all-you-can eat buffet at a Golden Corral restaurant when they found their daughter dead.

They were visiting relatives in central Florida on December 23 when they called for emergency help after discovering the baby was unresponsive in their car, according to Lakeland Police.

Betsey Kee Stephens was declared dead at the hospital.

Ruby Stephens, 23, is seen in an undated picture released by the Lakeland Police Department in Lakeland, Florida December 30, 2014.  Stephens and her husband Roy, the parents of a 22-day-old baby found starved to death, have been charged with first-degree murder, police said on Tuesday, accusing them of neglecting the suffering infant.  REUTERS/Lakeland Police Department/Handout via Reuters  (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
Ruby Stephens was arrested over the death of her 22-day-old baby (Picture: Reuters/Lakeland Police Department)

‘She suffered tremendously over the 22 days that she was alive,’ Mike Link, assistant chief of Lakeland Police, told a news conference.

He called photographs of the baby ‘absolutely horrible.’

A medical examiner later determined the death was a homicide resulting from ‘starvation due to neglect,’ according to an arrest report.

An autopsy found the infant weighed 4lbs 1oz at death, having lost about 2 and a half lbs since her birth. Normal weight for her age was about 8lbs, the medical examiner’s office noted.

The baby was dehydrated and appeared not to have been fed for six to seven hours prior to her death, according to the report.

Roy Stephens, 48, is seen in an undated picture released by the Lakeland Police Department in Lakeland, Florida December 30, 2014.  Stephens and his wife Ruby, the parents of a 22-day-old baby found starved to death, have been charged with first-degree murder, police said on Tuesday, accusing them of neglecting the suffering infant.  REUTERS/Lakeland Police Department/Handout via Reuters  (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
Roy Stephens was also arrested (Picture: Reuters)

The mother initially told police that she had been breast-feeding the baby every few hours.

But after police told her about the autopsy’s findings, she acknowledged that the baby likely had not been fed for much of their day-long road trip, with highway traffic making it difficult to exit to feed her.

The mother later told police that the infant had shown signs of health issues, but she had missed an appointment to have her weight checked before the Florida trip.

Roy Stephens was not the biological father, the mother told authorities, and had not paid much attention to her from birth.

The baby was found in her parents' car outside a branch of all-you-can-eat restaurant Golden Corral (Picture: Google Street View)
The baby was found in her parents’ car outside a branch of all-you-can-eat restaurant Golden Corral (Picture: Google Street View)

Police said the couple from Tennyson, Indiana, were travelling with two other children. Both appeared healthy and have been taken into protective custody.

The mother told authorities that after arriving at a hotel earlier on December 23, she had checked the baby’s feet and covered them with a blanket because they were cold.

The family went to a restaurant to eat with relatives. When the mother went to take the baby out of a car seat, according to the arrest report, she noticed the baby was ‘completely unresponsive and cold to the touch.’

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