Marc Ray
Marc Ray
Misty Ray
Misty Ray

Thursday morning, 41-year-old Marc Ray and 40-year-old Misty Ray, both of Perry, were arrested on charges stemming from the death of their adopted daughter, 16-year-old Sabrina Ray.

The couple was arrested at their home without incident on eight charges each. The charges were identical for both and included: one count of child endangerment resulting in death, a class B felony; four counts of child endangerment resulting in serious injury, a class C felony; and three counts of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person, a class C felony. They were transported to the Dallas County Jail and had their initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon.

The charges come from an incident from last Friday where police responded to a call regarding an unresponsive teenage girl. Upon arriving at the house at 1708 1st Street in Perry, officers found Sabrina dead, along with three other unattended children. Officers says at the time they found her, Sabrina was obviously malnourished, weighing only 56 pounds. Two of the other children, a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl who were also adopted children of the Rays, were taken to the hospital and are currently under physicians care.

Thursday afternoon, Police Chief Eric Vaughn held a press conference along with a representative of the Division of Criminal Investigation detailing the circumstances of Sabrina’s death and the arrest of Marc and Misty. Vaughn was asked how his officers were doing in dealing with such an emotional case, to which he responded, “It has been kind of a long week. You know, I think the officers are doing well, or as well as can be expected. We’ve had some great support, great help. Not only from the DCI and Medical Examiners, but Department of Human Services, our County Attorney’s Office, and as always we get great support from our citizens here in Perry. Luckily, that is something that we’ve always had, is that great support from the citizens.”

An autopsy was performed early in the week, though the exact cause of death will not be known for several more weeks. However, based on the Medical Examiner’s initial autopsy and a coordinated investigation between the Perry Police and the DCI, they found probable cause to execute the arrests.

A candlelight vigil will be held in Sabrina’s memory at 8 p.m. tonight in the bandshell at Pattee Park.

Raccoon Valley Radio will bring more information about this case as it’s made official.