SC - Dennis & Molly McCurry for starving, abusing 3 boys, Lyman, 2006

Parents Jailed in Starving of 3 S.C. Kids
July 15th, 2006



LYMAN, S.C. (AP) - A couple was jailed on felony charges after police discovered their three adopted sons were severely malnourished, including a 5-year-old boy who weighed less than 20 pounds.An 8-year-old brother weighed less than 40 pounds and a 7-year-old brother weighed about 32 pounds when police found them Thursday. The boys also were treated for bruises, scratches, burns and head lice. Two of the boys told officers they were tied up to be kept from food in the mobile home.Dennis McCurry, 30, and Molly McCurry, 29, were each charged with three counts of intentional infliction of great bodily injury upon a child. If convicted of the felony, each faces a minimum 20 year sentence.A fourth child, Molly McCurry's 10-year-old biological daughter, was found to have head lice but was not malnourished, police said.
"It appeared that mom, dad and daughter ate one way, and the boys ate another way," Spartanburg County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Bobo said.According to the incident report, the couple told officers their family "had been dealing with a stomach virus that had caused the weight loss." During his bail hearing, Dennis McCurry told Magistrate Judge John Poole that he had lost 10 pounds.The couple was denied bail and the children are in protective custody.The boys are Molly McCurry's biological nephews, but she and her husband adopted them. The boys had lived with the McCurrys since 2003.


http://www.620ktar.com/?nid=45&sid=197472

If there is not a special place in He!! for such as these, then I highly recommend it.

I am so sickened when these stories come out. IMO state laws need to be revamped for there to ever be justice served. Being sent to prison is not enough! If you starve a child then you also should be starved!
I hope these brothers will be getting the physical and mental care they will need and that they won't become more victims of the system.

OB

If convicted, they only each face a minimum 20 year sentence??? I agree w/ OB, they need to know what it's like to starve. They should get tied up away from food just like those precious little boys were. How dare they make those children suffer so. I pray the boys get the proper love, care & nutrition they so rightfully deserve.

How did they get away with this for sooo long, doesn't anyone know these people??? don't they have friends, neighbors, relatives.

TisHerself said:

How did they get away with this for sooo long, doesn't anyone know these people??? don't they have friends, neighbors, relatives.

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Tis - and what about the school? At least two of the boys should have been attending. I suppose they were "home schooled".

Sniffy38 said:

Tis - and what about the school? At least two of the boys should have been attending. I suppose they were "home schooled".

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Well it is summer time and school has been out for at least 1 1/2 months, so I kind of think that the school wouldn't ahve been able to know this was happening.

July 2009:

A 10-year-old testified Monday that his adoptive parents tied him to his bed at night to keep him from foraging for food.

The child was a witness for the prosecution in the first day of trial in the child abuse case against Dennis Scott McCurry, 33, and Molly McCurry, 32, of Lyman...

State Department of Social Services officers say Scott McCurry admitted that he tied the boys’ hands to the bed post to keep them from getting food.

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http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090721/NEWS/907219997

Why does this seem to be so common - tying kids up to stop them from foraging for food?!? Why not just lock the bedroom door? They must just get a sadistic thrill out of restraining the kids

jurors heard from the Spartanburg County deputy who responded to a complaint from a neighbor concerned about the boys’ welfare.
"They looked very sick, like they hadn't eaten in a while," said Len Burgess with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. "He was very, very sick; his skin was real tight against his face."...


Burgess said the McCurrys told him that the whole family had a stomach virus and were losing weight, but a doctor who treated the boys at the hospital testified that their conditions were not caused by a virus, but were the result of chronic malnourishment, starvation and neglect.
Dr. Kristy Wolske described the condition of one of the victims.
"He had minimal fat on his body. His skin was practically translucent; you could see the veins through his skin," Wolske said, her eyes tearing up. "It's hard to describe seeing a child like that."...

A family member told News 4 that the McCurrys became legal guardians of the boys after their father died in a traffic accident and the mother’s whereabouts were unknown.

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https://web.archive.org/web/20090724171418/http://www.wyff4.com/news/20123551/detail.html

Oh, the "parents" testified in their own defense - get ready for some sickening victim-blaming...

[Molly McCurry] admitted that the boys had been tied up, but said she and her husband tied them up because it was the only way that she could keep the older boys from sexually assaulting the 5-year-old.

She testified that she and her husband took turns staying awake at night to try to prevent the boys from sexually abusing each other. She said, when they were unable to stay awake, they tied the boys up.

Molly McCurry testified that her husband had once broken her arm when she tried to stop him from beating one of the boys. She said she had previously lied and said she broke her arm in a fall.

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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ggbMAA&usg=AFQjCNGNAOBrY63joy4h_xUI8kqOfxuiHw

:violin:

The McCurrys’ daughter said the boys were forced to stand in the doorway while she and her parents ate, which both McCurrys denied. Molly McCurry testified that she would feed the boys three meals and snacks daily.

Both McCurrys said they were shocked when police showed them photos of how the boys appeared in July 2006 on the day they were taken from the home.

Assistant Solicitor Susan Reese asked how — after looking at the photos of the boys — Scott McCurry did not realize they weren’t eating properly.

“I don’t know, I didn’t notice — I’m only human, I don’t know,” McCurry said. “I didn’t notice. I kick myself every night. I don’t know how I didn’t notice.”...


A physician who treated the boys after they were removed from the home testified that the 5-year-old weighed 19 pounds, the 7-year-old weighed 32 pounds and the 8-year-old weighed 39.5 pounds and all were in danger of death from starvation. Dr. Kristy Wolske diagnosed the boys with severe chronic malnutrition as a result of starvation and neglect.

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http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090723/news/907239997?p=2&tc=pg

Dr. Kristy Wolske became emotional when describing the physical condition of the then 5-year-old child, who was the smallest at 19 pounds.

"It's hard to describe seeing a child like that," Wolske told jurors. "He was so malnourished. He had minimal fat. His skin was practically translucent... you could see the veins. There was blistering. He had extremely thin, coarse hair."

Wolske said the 5-year-old's frail condition is rarely seen in American children and is most often associated with cases of prolonged anorexia. The child, who was wearing a diaper when police placed him in emergency protective custody, also had extensive bruising and his ribs were visible. The back of the 5-year-old's knees were scabbed, consistent with skin that had broken down and is most commonly seen in bed-ridden adults.

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http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090722/ARTICLES/907221065

All children had bruises and abrasions on their body, with marks around their wrists consistent with having been tied to a bed. One of the children testified on Monday that the McCurrys tied him and his brothers to their bunk beds regularly.

The boys also had lice, she said, and their hair was thin and coarse, consistent with chronic malnutrition...

The boys have since recovered physically and had no signs of a genetic disorder that would cause their declined physical condition, she said

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http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090721/ARTICLES/907219962

[Molly McCurry] also denied she had taken drugs when the boys were in her care, although her former mother-in-law testified that she had seen and smoked crack with Molly McCurry in the past...


McCurry's daughter, who now lives with her grandmother and aunt, testified that she witnessed her father spanking the boys, causing bruising, and saw the boys standing at the front door forced to wear bookbags weighted with objects.

The girl, who is now 13, said the boys were tied to their beds, denied food, and forced to stand away from she and the McCurrys while they ate, facing an interior doorway.

The girl became emotional during her testimony and apologized to her mother while hugging her outside the courtroom during the lunch recess.

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http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090722/ARTICLES/907229930?p=2&tc=pg

Good girl! You did the right thing. Too often in these cases the favored children join in with the scapegoating of the other children and become sadistic themselves... This girl must have a strong moral character to testify against her parents like that.

The McCurrys’ biological daughter, who is now 13, took the stand as a defense witness, but provided possibly condemning testimony against her parents.

She admitted that her parents made her nephews watch the rest of the family eat while not giving the boys any food. Through tears, she said that she would often “sneak food” to the boys after her parents had gone to bed.

She also admitted that the boys would get tied to their beds at night, testifying that her mother tied them “most of the time” which condradicts earlier testimony given by Molly McCurry who said Scott tied up the boys. She also testified that her parents punished the boys by making them stand facing a wall while wearing bookbags filled with heavy objects - and said her father whipped the boys with a belt buckle.

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https://web.archive.org/web/2009072...d_child_shown_at_trail_of_lyman_couple/23734/

Well done for telling the truth! :loveyou:

July 2009:

Scott and Molly McCurry must serve at least 17 years in prison before they will be eligible for parole after a Spartanburg County jury convicted them Thursday afternoon of starving and abusing three young boys in their custody.

Circuit Court Judge Derham Cole sentenced the couple, who are now divorced, to the maximum prison sentence on each of the six charges against them, 20 years in prison for inflicting great bodily harm on a child (three counts) and 10 years in prison for unlawful conduct toward a child (three counts). The sentences, however, will run concurrently, so the McCurrys will be eligible for parole after serving 85 percent of the maximum sentence of 20 years.

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http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090724/ARTICLES/907239942?p=2&tc=pg

I tried to find an update, a statement of how the boys are doing now but can't find anything.

Prayers they are thriving.