Prosecutors who fought for justice in Sabrina Ray trial speak out
Sabrina Ray was starved to death by her adoptive parents nearly two years ago, and for the first time since the 16-year-old died, the attorneys who fought for her spoke with vlog.
Dallas County Attorney Chuck Sinnard and Asstant Dallas County Attorney Jeannine Ritchie said that while they feel as though a weight has lifted from their shoulders, Sabrina Ray’s case is one they won’t soon forget.
"We will deal with our own trauma, and you know, move forward to the next case,” Ritchie said. “That's what we do. We try to help those that can't help themselves."
Ritchie said got the call the night of Ray's death on May 12, 2017. The teen was found living in horrific conditions and weighing 56 pounds.
Over the course of 20 months Ray’s adoptive parents, brother, grandmother and cousin entered guilty pleas in connection with the case.
"(In) this serious of a case, it's very unusual to have so many actors,” Ritchie said.
"There were varying levels of responsibility, culpability, remorse -- varying levels of impact to the victims in these cases,” Sinnard said.
Marc and Misty Ray, Sabrina Ray’s adoptive parents, were not convicted of murder in the case.
Ritchie said she and Sinnard said they were willing to accept Misty Ray's plea of first-degree kidnapping because of the punishment that comes along with it.
"That met our goals for this prosecution,” Ritchie said. “The children would not have to testify and go through further trauma and Misty would remain in custody in prison for the rest of her life."
Even on the other side of months of litigation Sinnard and Ritchie said this case will stay with them for a long time.
“It was the extreme of how horrible a human being can be to other human beings,” Sinnard said. “I think the other extreme though is the resilience of the human spirit."
"They are resilient children, and that makes me happy,” Ritchie said.