Richmond parents face neglect charges in infant daughter's death

RICHMOND, Ind. — The parents of a Richmond infant face felony charges over the baby's February death.

Kira D. McKee, 23, and Nathaniel K. Ray Sr., 29, were each charged Monday in Wayne Superior Court 2 with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison.

According to an affidavit, the couple's 3-month-old daughter died on Feb. 22.

Richmond police said McKee told them she had gone to sleep on a couch with the baby "lying on her right arm, between her chest and the back cushions of the couch."

The mother said when she woke up the next morning, she realized the infant was unresponsive.

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Both parents told police they tried to resuscitate the baby with CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived at their home.

They also indicated they had ingested Oxycontin, which Ray said he had obtained from a friend, and drank an alcoholic beverage before going to sleep, the affidavit said.

Police detectives said Ray also acknowledged smoking marijuana the previous evening, while McKee reportedly said she had ingested cocaine at a party a few nights earlier.

"Nathaniel said he and Kia knew of the dangers of co-sleeping (with the baby) before the incident," a Richmond police detective wrote."He stated that they were instructed to avoid it by the hospital in Indianapolis where Kia gave birth."

An autopsy reportedly concluded the baby's likely cause of death was "positional asphyxia," the court document said.

Tests also revealed the baby had cocaine in her system when she died, the affidavit reported, and "cocaine exposure and respiratory viral illness" were listed as "contributing factors" in her death.

Both parents said McKee had not breastfed the baby and also maintained there was not cocaine in their home.

McKee reportedly suggested the infant might have "been exposed to cocaine from the shirt (her mother) was wearing."

When police searched the couple's home, in the 1200 block of North A Street, in the wake of the baby's death, they said Ray's two older children were asleep in a bedroom, along with seven dogs.

"The apartment itself appeared to be one of the most unkempt and dangerous that I have seen in my 27 years in law enforcement," a detective wrote. "There was a combination of live extension cords, fecal matter, and various sources of electric heat."

In charging documents, prosecutors allege McKee "co-slept with the baby in a dangerous manner," while Ray is accused of failing "to remove (the infant) from co-sleeping with Kira McKee."

Ray in 2020 was convicted of possession of meth in Wayne Circuit Court.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Richmond parents face neglect charges in infant daughter's death