FORT BENNING, Ga. — A Georgia couple is facing charges for starving their son and pets, which led to the deaths of their child and one of their dogs.
Emma Bradshaw, 22, and Ladarrion McCray, 23, were federally charged on Wednesday with felony murder by child abuse, cruelty to children, making false statements, animal crushing, aggravated animal cruelty and two counts of animal cruelty. If convicted, each faces a maximum of life in prison.
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Federal prosecutors say McCray is a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Benning in west Georgia. When Bradshaw joined him there, she was pregnant with their child.
They say the couple did not give their son the necessary food for the two weeks leading up to his Jan. 2026 death.
The day their son died, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division searched their home and found two dogs severely malnourished and a third dead inside a trash barrel in the backyard.
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Bradshaw and McCray told investigators that their son showed no signs of illness before his death and that the dog had been buried at a park off Fort Benning.
Because of his alleged conduct, McCray is subject to discharge proceedings.
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