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A Dead Baby in a Motel Room
A judge sentenced Ruth Wicks to eight years in prison after a jury found her guilty of B felony neglect of a dependent. Her boyfriend, Randy Sparks, pled guilty to the same charge and received a six-year sentence.
On Sept. 17, 2003, Wicks and Sparks left the motel room in which they were living, leaving her four-month-old baby, Ellen, in the care of her 13-year-old mentally deficient son and her 11-year-old daughter. The adults wanted to buy crack cocaine, hoping Ruth would prostitute herself to pay for it. Unsuccessful in their hunt, they sold a television, bought crack and smoked it all night.
Meanwhile, at the motel, Ellen was crying and wouldn't stop. Remembering what the adults did in the past when the baby cried, the boy put several pillows on top of Ellen and pushed down, suffocating her.
The boy pled guilty to battery with serious bodily injury in Juvenile Court. He was sentenced to probation and continued placement at Valle Vista treatment center. The 11-year-old girl is in foster care.
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