Utah parents who spent less than a minute with daughter the day before she died of starvation get 2 to 30 years in prison
09/16/2026 10:00 am PDT
NIBLEY, Utah (TCN) -- A mother and father have each been sentenced to two consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison for child abuse homicide in connection with the neglect-related death of their daughter last year.
On March 19, 2025, 32-year-old Carrie Murray found 18-month-old Ruby Murray deceased in her crib and dialed 911. Dispatchers advised her to perform lifesaving measures, but she claimed the child was “beyond help” and did not do so. Murray claimed she believed her daughter had died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and that “it was her time, I guess.”
Ruby Murray’s cause of death was found to be due to malnutrition and dehydration.
Investigators learned the child was kept in her crib most of the time, and it was covered with mesh to prevent her from climbing out. She was fed a diet of frozen toasted waffles and had loud music by Green Day and Fall Out Boy played in her room at all hours. She reportedly did not know the difference between night and day.
The investigation also revealed that no one had checked on Ruby Murray for 16 hours before her death. On the day before she died, she had only 49 seconds total of interactions with her parents and her sibling.
Carrie Murray and her husband, 32-year-old Mitchell Murray, were charged with aggravated murder and aggravated child abuse in December 2025. They pleaded guilty to reduced charges of child abuse homicide and aggravated child abuse in July.
On Sept. 10, both Carrie and Mitchell Murray were sentenced to two consecutive terms each of one to 15 years for the child abuse homicide and aggravated child abuse charges for a maximum of 30 years, and they received 283 days’ credit for time served, KSL reports. In addition, both Murrays will be placed on the child abuse registry.
In a letter to the court on Sept. 4, KSL reports Carrie Murray wrote, “I am so incredibly sorry. I will never stop being sorry. I pray for forgiveness frequently. I had so many plans, hopes, and dreams for Ruby that will now not happen. I love Ruby. I am remorseful and sorrowful knowing that I failed her. My actions and inactions led to the worst thing that has and will ever happen to me.”
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