A 27-year-old Wisconsin man will join his girlfriend in prison after starving his 3-week-old son to death while sharing a hearty lunch while he withered away.
According to court documents, De’Varius D. Keys was sentenced to eight years in jail and four years probation for the death of Dev’Kumar Keys. Taryn L. Strait, the boy’s 22-year-old mother, received the same sentence last month. Both offenders pleaded guilty to felony child neglect.
According to the criminal complaint provided by Law&Crime, Dev’Kumar died on February 1, 2024, in Sun Prairie, a Madison suburb. An autopsy revealed that the boy weighed only 5 pounds and had lost more than a pound since birth. Investigators discovered that Strait and Keys were largely feeding the boy almond milk since she was unable to produce breast milk. She refused to give him the formula.
Taryn asserted that all infant formulae, regardless of brand, contained lead. She would watch videos online of individuals putting magnets into infant formula and removing lead,” according to the complaint.
Strait told authorities that she saw her kid in his cot at their apartment shortly before 2:30 a.m. on the day of his death, and that he “did not appear OK” because he was blue in the face. She took up the boy, who “went limp.” They drove the boy to the hospital instead of dialing 911 because she was concerned about the cost of an ambulance.
Medical professionals attempted to save the boy, but he perished.
Investigators eventually discovered that Dev’Kumar had a doctor’s appointment a few days after his birth. Concerned that the boy was losing weight, physicians advised the parents to increase his feeding frequency to every two hours. Medical personnel scheduled a doctor’s visit for two weeks later, but the parents never showed up and did not return further messages.
Dane County Child Protective Services was notified and attempted to contact the parents, but “no one answered, so messages were left,” police stated. Clinic staff soon contacted Strait and offered appointments in the coming days. But she stated it was “too short notice” and never arranged any more appointments.
An autopsy determined that the boy died from hunger and dehydration.
During the sentencing, prosecutors chastised Strait for not prioritizing her son’s needs.
“You protect and nourish your child,” Assistant District Attorney Will Davis told local NBC station WJFW. “Ms. Strait does none of those things.”
Her counsel reportedly blamed her client’s mental health issues, as well as her drug and alcohol addictions. Keys was also abusive to Strait, according to her lawyer. Strait reportedly apologized, admitted her actions were wrong, and stated that her son’s death would have “a lot of impact” on her for the rest of her life.
Circuit Judge Nicholas McNamara said he couldn’t understand Strait’s selfishness for ordering food and having sex with her lover “while the starving baby was there.”
The case also prompted issues about CPS, namely why the agency did not do more to assist the kid before his death. WJFW got a copy of a summary report on Dev’Kumar’s death, which stated that the agency’s initial review “found insufficient evidence to substantiate neglect of the infant by the parents.”
“The agency closed the case upon completion of the Initial Assessment, and no service referrals were made,” according to the letter.
