Overview
- On July 16 a federal grand jury charged 23-year-old Pfc. Ladarrion McCray and 22-year-old Emma Bradshaw with felony murder by child abuse and related counts, including aggravated animal cruelty and making false statements.
- Prosecutors allege the couple deprived their infant son of food for about two weeks and that the child died on Jan. 28, 2026, from severe malnourishment.
- Army Criminal Investigation Division agents who searched the couple’s Fort Benning home found two living dogs in critical malnutrition and a dachshund dead in a trash barrel, and a necropsy determined the dachshund died of starvation.
- McCray is an active-duty soldier now facing military discharge proceedings, and both defendants face maximum penalties of life in federal prison with no possibility of parole if convicted.
- The case will proceed in federal court because the alleged offenses occurred on Army property, the Justice Department and Army CID continue to investigate, and the charges are allegations with the defendants presumed innocent pending trial.