A federal grand jury has indicted an active-duty Fort Benning soldier and his partner on charges that they starved their son to death and abused three dogs, causing one animal to die.
Ladarrion McCray, 23, of Valdosta, Ga., and Emma Bradshaw, 22, of Carson City, Nev., each face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison if convicted, according to a July 15 release from the Department of Justice. Prosecutors stressed that the indictment contains allegations and that both defendants remain presumed innocent.
The indictment alleges that McCray and Bradshaw willfully deprived their son of necessary nourishment from Jan. 14 through Jan. 28, jeopardizing his health and causing his death on Jan. 28.
The couple lived in military housing at Fort Benning during the alleged abuse. McCray was an active-duty Army soldier who had recently transferred to the installation. Bradshaw reportedly joined him shortly after his arrival and was pregnant when she moved onto the post, according to federal prosecutors.
Couple Accused of Lying to Investigators
Army Criminal Investigation Division agents searched the couple’s on-post home Jan. 28, the same day the child died.
Investigators found a male hound and a female Doberman that appeared severely malnourished. Medical examinations later found that both surviving dogs suffered from severe malnutrition and significant muscle wasting.
Agents allegedly found a third dog, a female dachshund, dead inside a trash barrel outside the residence. A necropsy determined that the dog died from starvation. Prosecutors allege that McCray and Bradshaw failed to provide all three animals with adequate food, water, sanitary living conditions and ventilation.
The indictment also accuses the couple of making false statements to Army CID agents. McCray and Bradshaw allegedly claimed that their son showed no signs of illness before his death, although prosecutors contend that both knew the child suffered from severe malnutrition.
They also allegedly told investigators that the dachshund became ill, died, and was buried at a park outside Fort Benning. Authorities instead found the animal’s body inside a garbage bag placed with household trash near the couple’s residence.
McCray and Bradshaw each face one count of felony murder by child abuse, one count of first-degree cruelty to children, one count of making false statements, one count of animal crushing, one count of aggravated animal cruelty and two counts of animal cruelty.
McCray is also undergoing proceedings that could remove him from military service because of the alleged conduct. The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the case, and Deputy Criminal Chief Veronica Hansis is prosecuting it for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Court dates for the defendants’ initial appearances were not announced at press time.
