News footage shows Fort Benning in Georgia (WSB).
A U.S. Army soldier stationed at a Georgia military installation and his wife have been arrested on federal charges after prosecutors said their young son died from alleged starvation while the family was living on base.
Ladarrion McCray, 23, and Emma Bradshaw, 22, are facing charges in federal court that include murder by child abuse, cruelty to children, and making false statements tied to the January death of their son. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said McCray was an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army who had been transferred to Fort Benning. Bradshaw later joined him in Georgia and was pregnant with the child when she arrived, according to prosecutors.
The child died on Jan. 28. In an indictment reviewed by Law&Crime, federal prosecutors allege McCray and Bradshaw were aware the boy was showing signs of malnourishment before his death. Authorities say the couple did not provide investigators with an accurate account of what happened, and the inquiry soon expanded beyond the child’s death.
Prosecutors allege that between Jan. 14 and Jan. 28, McCray and Bradshaw “willfully” withheld food from the boy, conduct the indictment says “jeopardized the child’s health and well-being.” Officials have not released further details about the child’s medical condition or the circumstances immediately surrounding his death.
When investigators searched the couple’s home on the military base, they allegedly uncovered evidence that two dogs in the residence had also been mistreated. A third dog was found dead and discarded in the trash, according to the indictment. McCray allegedly told investigators the dachshund had “passed away due to illness” and had been buried “at a park off-post.” A necropsy later determined the dog had died from starvation.
The indictment states that the two surviving dogs showed signs of “severe malnourishment and significant muscle wasting,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Along with murder by child abuse, child cruelty, and false statement charges, McCray and Bradshaw were each charged with animal crushing, aggravated animal cruelty, and two counts of animal cruelty.
The U.S. attorney stated that McCray is now subject to discharge hearings in connection with the allegations.
