Insets, from left: Kendal Lee Hayes and Glenn John Delgreco II (Iredell County Sheriff's Office). Background: Mooresville, North Carolina, home where Hayes and Delgreco allegedly starved their baby to death (Google Maps).
Parents in North Carolina are accused of starving their 3-month-old daughter and never seeking medical attention as the girl withered away until she died.
Kendal Lee Hayes, 34, and Glenn John Delgreco II, 33, are charged with first-degree murder.
The Iredell County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that deputies responded on May 13 to a call about an unresponsive infant at a home in the 1000 block of Brawley School Road in Mooresville, which is about 30 miles north of Charlotte.
First responders performed CPR and rushed the girl to the hospital, where she died.
Detectives learned that the girl lost one-third of her weight since birth. She was suffering from "severe malnourishment and dehydration," cops said. The parents allegedly never sought medical attention for the girl even though she was showing signs of "significant distress."
An autopsy determined the girl died from severe protein-calorie malnutrition due to caregiver neglect. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, per cops. Other details, including the girl's name, were not released.
Neighbor Paul Zawada didn't know about the baby but saw other kids at the home.
"They would have little kids running around in this lot out here," Zawada told local ABC affiliate WSOC. "Half the time they wouldn't have clothes on."
Hayes and Delgreco were indicted on Tuesday. They were charged in May with child abuse and aiding and abetting.
The child's grandparents, Alice Loraine Evans and Thomas Virgil Evans, lived in the home where the girl died and are facing those same charges, records show. They were jailed but have since posted $100,000 bonds.
The parents remain in the Iredell County Detention Center without bond. Their next court dates are set for Oct. 26.
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