Left: Taryn Strait. Right: De'Varius D. Keys (Dane County Jail).
As her 3-week-old son lay withering away next to her with sunken eyes and no food in his stomach, a Wisconsin mother and her boyfriend decided to order some grub for themselves.
The boy, Dev'Kumar Keys, died and now his mother, 22-year-old Taryn L. Strait, is headed to prison. A judge Wednesday sentenced Strait to eight years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to felony child neglect, court records say. Her boyfriend and the boy's father, 27-year-old De'Varius D. Keys, pleaded guilty to the same charge and is set to be sentenced next month.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime, Dev'Kumar died on Feb. 1, 2024, in Sun Prairie, a suburb of Madison. An autopsy determined the boy weighed just 5 pounds, losing more than a pound since his birth. Investigators learned Strait and Keys were mostly feeding the boy almond milk because she was struggling to produce breast milk. She refused to give him formula.
"Taryn stated that all of the baby formulas no matter what the brand had lead in it. She would watch videos online of people putting magnets into the baby formula and pulling out lead," the complaint stated.
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Strait said she saw her baby shortly before 2:30 a.m. on the day of his death in his bassinet at their apartment and he "did not appear OK" as he was blue in the face, cops wrote. She picked up the boy and he "went limp." They took the boy to the hospital rather than calling 911 because she was worried about the cost of an ambulance.
Medical personnel tried to save the boy but he died.
Investigators later learned Dev'Kumar had a doctor's appointment a few days after his birth. Concerned the boy was losing weight, doctors told the parents to increase his feeding schedule to every two hours. Medical staff set a doctor's appointment for two weeks later but the parents never showed up and did not answer subsequent messages.
Dane County Child Protective Services was notified and attempted to call the parents but "no one answered so messages were left," cops wrote. Clinic staff eventually got a hold of Strait and offered appointments in the coming days. But she said it was "too short of notice" and never scheduled any future appointments.
An autopsy confirmed the boy died of starvation and dehydration.
During the sentencing, prosecutors admonished Strait for not putting her son's needs first.
"You protect and nourish your child," Assistant District Attorney Will Davis said, per local NBC affiliate WJFW. "Ms. Strait does none of those things."
Her attorney reportedly blamed her client's mental health problems along with her addictions to drug and alcohol. Keys was also abusive toward Strait, her lawyer claimed. Strait reportedly apologized, acknowledged her behavior was wrong and said her son's death will have "a lot of impact" on her for the rest of her life.
Circuit Judge Nicholas McNamara said he couldn't fathom the selfishness Strait showed by ordering food and having sex with her boyfriend "while the starving baby was there."
The case also raised questions about CPS, and why it did not do more to help the boy before he died. WJFW obtained a copy of a summary report for Dev'Kumar's death that said the agency's initial assessment "found insufficient evidence to substantiate neglect of the infant by the parents."
"The agency closed the case upon completion of the Initial Assessment, and no service referrals were made," the document stated.
It then closed the case. The agency has declined to elaborate on why it did not check on the boy.
Keys is slated to be sentenced on Nov. 20.
