'It was her time I guess': Parents who spent just 49 seconds with languishing 18-month-old daughter the day before she died learn their fates

A Utah couple could spend up to three decades behind bars after they let their 18-month-old daughter languish alone for hours on end, keeping her in a crib littered with trash and remnants of food as she wasted away until she died.

Carrie Marie Murray and Mitchell Chesnut Murray, both 32, were sentenced to between one and 15 years for child abuse homicide and aggravated child abuse in the death of Ruby Marie Murray, according to local NBC affiliate KSL. They originally faced murder charges until they pleaded guilty on reduced charges in July.

The terms will be served consecutively, meaning they could be in prison for up to 30 years. They will be given credit for the 283 days they already spent behind bars.

The Murrays barely cared for their daughter, including never removing her from her crib the day before her death, spending just 49 seconds with her in 24 hours.

Judge Spencer D. Walsh admonished them for gaming or streaming instead of caring for their child. They "checked out" as parents, he told them, according to a courtroom report from The Herald-Journal.

"Parenthood is so much more than throwing an occasional bottle in a crib or tossing a waffle into the crib," Walsh said. "Justice demands that a very harsh sentence would be imposed because the value of that innocent life is so great."

Both parents apologized.

"I'm remorseful and sorrowful, knowing that I failed her," Carrie Murray reportedly told the court. "My actions and inactions led to the worst thing that has and will ever happen to me."

Said Mitchell Murray: "I regret what happened. I should have done better. I didn't do better."

According to probable cause statements reviewed by Law&Crime, Carrie Murray discovered her daughter "deceased in her crib" around 10:30 a.m. on March 19, 2025, at their home in Nibley, which is some 80 miles north of Salt Lake City.

She called 911 — but then apparently refused to perform lifesaving measures, despite being a registered nurse.

"Carrie informed Dispatch that she was a nurse and she believed the child to be beyond help," the probable cause statement for Carrie Murray said.

When police interviewed her, the mother seemed indifferent, telling investigators that her "biggest guess" is that her daughter died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), although she acknowledged that Ruby was "older than typical for a SIDS death," police said.

"It was her time I guess," Carrie Murray told police. She also reportedly said that she bore no responsibility for her daughter's death.

"I feel guilt really strong — I feel no guilt over this," she told investigators.

According to investigators who reviewed baby monitor footage, Ruby's living conditions were abysmal.

"[I]n the crib were several sippy cups and a large amount of pieces of Eggo-style waffle," the statement said. "The interior of the crib was very dirty with old pieces of food. Underneath the mattress was trash, wrappers, and more waffle particles."

Police noted that the room appeared to be kept at a temperature warmer than other parts of the house — 77 degrees — but that Ruby's body temperature was only 83 degrees, putting her at risk of hypothermia.

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The parents acknowledged that they constantly played "loud rock and pop music" in Ruby's room by bands such as Green Day and Fall Out Boy that "appeared to interfere with her ability to sleep at times." They allegedly told investigators that Ruby was fed around three times per day, with occasional snacks, but that she had only eaten actual baby food once or twice, and most of the time she was given nothing but toasted waffles.

The girl was also apparently left alone for hours on end.

"Review of the footage showed that [Ruby] was never removed from her crib on 3/18/2025," the probable cause statement said. "Mitchell placed a sippy cup and a waffle in the crib with [Ruby] at 1157 hours and again at 1829 hours. The total interaction Carrie, Mitchell, and L.M. had with [Ruby] on 3/18/2025 was 49 seconds."

"L.M." was identified in the statement as Carrie Murray's 4-year-old child.

Mitchell Murray reportedly told investigators that it was routine for Ruby to have what he called "crib days," or "days where [Ruby] remained in her crib all day while he worked." This happened once or twice a week.

During the four days before her death, investigators said the toddler was outside the crib for a total of six hours, and was only with another person in the room for less than 50 minutes. The statement noted that Ruby's diaper was not changed during the entire day before she died, and it was only changed six times during those four days.

Ruby was ultimately deemed to have died from "dehydration and undernutrition," with the parents "unreasonably subjecting [Ruby] to excessive heat, darkness, solitary confinement, or sleep deprivation."

Marisa Sarnoff contributed to this report