Latest on Dent County Couple Accused of Starving Adopted Daughter to Death

(Salem) A married couple from Dent County, accused of starving their adopted daughter to death, won’t be back in court until after the new year begins.

51-year-old Randall and 44-year-old Susan Abney, who both went to school in Viburnum, won’t have their preliminary hearings until January 21st at the courthouse in Salem.

The couple have each been charged with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death.

According to Salem News Online, on October 3rd of this year, Dent County deputies responded to the Abney residence on Dent County Road 4255, located between Salem and Boss.

A 10-year-old girl was found in an extreme starving condition.

The girl was taken to the Salem hospital where she died later that evening.

The police statement says the girls’ bones were protruding, she was covered in bruises and they say she looked like a holocaust victim, weighing just under 40-pounds.

A doctor at the hospital had also said the 10-year-old had a blood-sugar level of 10 and the child’s dehydration would not allow for a blood sample to be taken.

Police say they found a lock on the refrigerator with food in the cupboards out of the child’s reach.

The child only had a mattress to sleep on which was on the floor of her bedroom, there was a lock on the reverse side of her bedroom door and an alarm located on top of the door.

And in the Abney’s bedroom, drawers were apparently filled with cookies, candy, brownies and snack bars.

The Abney’s told police they adopted the girl in 2013 and gave the excuse that the child had refused to eat during the last week she was alive.