Justin Dale Ray has been sentenced to two consecutive five-year prison terms for his involvement in the death of his adoptive sister, Sabrina Ray.
The 21-year-old from Perry pleaded guilty to lesser charges Friday afternoon, after admitting he had pushed his 16-year-old adopted sister down a flight of stairs and kicked her in the face in the months leading up to her death. He was found guilty of two counts of willful injury causing bodily injury, a class D felony carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years for each. In exchange for the guilty plea, he had his other two charges dismissed, which included child endangerment resulting in serious injury, a class C felony, and child endangerment resulting in bodily injury, a class D felony.
When handing down his sentence, Judge Terry Rickers told Justin, “There’s clearly a darkness in your heart, Mr. Ray.” Justin was the first of five suspects to be tried in the case of the death of Sabrina Ray, who was found dead in the home of her adoptive parents, Marc and Misty Ray, on May 12, 2017. The cause of death was determined to be severe malnutrition, as the teen only weighed 56 pounds at the time of her death. The trials for the other four defendants have been continued several times, but are scheduled to happen some time this year.
Raccoon Valley Radio will bring your more information on this case as it’s made official.