WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Sumter police investigating starving death of 1-year-old

Sumter police investigating starving death of 1-year-old

SUMTER, SC (WIS) - In Sumter, police are investigating the starving death of a one-year-old boy.

Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock says police got a call at about 2:15pm Monday about an unresponsive child, and emergency crews responded to the house on Carolina Avenue in Sumter.

The child was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Coroner Bullock says the child died of starvation. He says the parents, 25-year-old Kevin Isaac and 23-year-old Marketta McCray are facing homicide by child abuse charges.

Bullock said the little boy had a twin sister and the fact that he died is probably what saved her life.

Bullock said, in his opinion, the house was deplorable and this was totally inexcusable. He calls this one of the worst cases he's seen.

"The house was unkept, filthy. There was feces from the dogs that were living in the residence. There were rats as well as roaches and just very awful for someone to be living in a manner such as that," Sumter Police Chief Patty Patterson said.

Sumter Police Department Captain Alvin Holston says they have arrested the mother and father of the dead child. Officials say the parents were being held at the Sumter County jail.

"In my 30 years of being in law enforcement, this is probably one of the most horrific instances that I have witnessed," Patterson said.

The 1-year-old's sister is now in critical condition in the hospital.

The couple's 9-year-old, 6-year-old and 4-year-old were taken into Department of Social Services protective custody.

Police say McCray called 911 Monday because her infant son was unresponsive.

"The parents were in the residence, there was another adult in the residence, along with the children," Patterson said.

Police say they don't know the last time the infants were fed. Neighbors say the three older kids always seemed healthy.

"It looks like they never miss a meal, I mean they eat healthy all the time," neighbor Louis Dargan said.

Dargan described McCray and Isaac as "just normal people."

"The guy works everyday, she stays home with them," Dargan said.

Both parents are being held at the Sumter County Detention Center. Their bond hearings have not been set.

Reported by Jordan Sandler

Posted by Bryce Mursch