FAITH RAY (Samantha Foster) - 2 yo (2008) - Belleview FL

Violet Love Ray, 35, of
Belleview, was arrested Tuesday evening (04-07-2009) on charges of first-degree
murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect in connection with the
death of her 2-year-old adopted daughter.


The victim, Faith J. Ray, was one of Ray's six adopted children, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.Faith had been taken to Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala on Dec. 6 and
flown to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville. An
emergency room doctor told sheriff's investigators Faith had a brain
bleed, which was life-threatening, as well as bruising on her arms,
chest and legs.The girl died at Shands on Dec. 8, and the
Medical Examiner's Office determined the death was a homicide.
Sheriff's Maj. Chris Blair said a county grand jury indicted Ray on
March 6, and the indictment was sealed.On Tuesday, sheriff's
detectives Rhonda Stroup and Mark Peavy went to the Marion County
Courthouse for a Department of Children and Families hearing involving
Ray's parental rights for the other five children. DCF has had custody
of them since Faith's death.At the end of the hearing, the
detectives arrested Ray. Stroup said that, once the handcuffs were
placed on her, the woman fell to the floor. Detectives immediately
called for medical assistance.Emergency medical officials
arrived, checked her vital signs and found her to be in good health;
and Ray refused treatment, according to the Sheriff's Office.Ray
was taken to the Marion County Jail, booked in a 7 p.m. and held
without bond. As she was led to the jail, Ray, who was wearing a black
coat and no shoes, offered no comment and held her head down.The
Sheriff's Office first became aware of the case at 9:18 p.m. Dec. 5,
when a deputy went to 10694 S.E. 90th Court after a 9-1-1 hangup. Ray
reportedly told the deputy one of the kids must have called after
getting scared because Faith had slipped and fallen on the kitchen
floor.The baby appeared to be asleep and was wrapped in blankets
in her grandfather's arms, according the report. The deputy saw no
injuries to her head but offered to call an ambulance and urged that
the child be taken to the hospital.According to the report,
family members indicated they were going to take her right away. But
they apparently waited until the following morning and called for an
ambulance at 4:38 a.m., when Faith had stopped breathing.

From a PM I received:

How can i have information regarding the death of Faith Ray from
belleview fl added her birth name was Samantha Foster. I was her foster
mom and i want people to know what happened to her by her adoptive mom
who the childrens home society felt was a better match for her because
it was a married couple and i am single i raised her from barely 5lbs
and 9 days old until 20 months when i was forced to turn her over to
her new family where she was killed less than 9 months later. The
person responsible was able to bond out and has been free after
spending only 3 day in jail. I want to know who to contact to bring
attention to this case and not let it just be swept under a rug.

Its not fair to samantha for her to have been taken away from her real family.

Here is a link to all the articles related to her death
http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/23361

Faith J. Ray (Samantha Foster)


2-year old girl adopted by Joe and Violet Ray was rushed to the
hospital where she was found to have bleeding of her brain, multiple
bruises on her arms, chest, legs, and thighs, as well as vaginal
tearing. Several hours later she died. Her death was declared a
homicide. Faith was one of 6 adopted children; two from private
adoption agencies, four from DCF, including Faith and her 1-year-old
bio brother.
Date: 2008-12-08
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother

Violet Love Ray, the Belleview woman accused of murdering her
2-year-old adopted daughter, was placed on suicide watch at the Marion
County Jail following her arrest Tuesday.
Lead Detective Rhonda Stroup said the move was a precaution because
Ray was despondent when she was arrested following a court hearing for
termination of paternal rights at the Marion County Courthouse. Stroup
said a family member also mentioned something about depression.The
35-year-old mother of six adopted children had been indicted on charges
of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect in
connection with the death in December of Faith J. Ray.Before
Ray's first appearance in front of Judge Steven Rodgers via video link
at the Marion County Jail, she could be seen chatting, smiling and
sharing a laugh with fellow inmates.Her hearing began at about
9:30 a.m. Wednesday, and Ray was silent and stone-faced as she walked
barefoot to the podium to talk with the judge. Speaking in a soft
voice, Ray told Rodgers that her attorney is Michael Johnson.She
said her children were in foster care and that she does not work.
Rodgers set Ray's bond at $135,000 and warned her not to have
unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.Emerging from the
makeshift courtroom, Ray refused comment to the news media and held her
head down as she was escorted to a holding area.Johnson said he had no comment about the case.On
Tuesday, sheriff's detectives Stroup and Mark Peavy went to the
courthouse for a Department of Children and Families hearing involving
Ray's parental rights.At the end of the hearing, the detectives
arrested Ray. Stroup said that, once the handcuffs were placed on her,
Ray fell to the floor. Detectives immediately called for medical
assistance. Emergency medical officials arrived, checked her vital
signs and found her to be in good health. Ray refused treatment,
according to the Sheriff's Office.Ray was taken to the Marion
County Jail and booked in a 7 p.m. As she was led to the jail, Ray, who
was wearing a black coat and no shoes, offered no comment and held her
head down.Faith J. Ray, one of her six adopted children, died
several months ago. Faith had been taken to Munroe Regional Medical
Center in Ocala on Dec. 6 and was flown to Shands at the University of
Florida in Gainesville. An emergency room doctor told sheriff's
investigators Faith had a bleeding on the brain, which was
life-threatening, as well as bruising on her arms, chest and legs.The
girl died at Shands on Dec. 8, and the Medical Examiner's Office
determined the death was a homicide. Sheriff's Maj. Chris Blair said a
county grand jury indicted Ray on March 6, and the indictment was
sealed.Among the adoptive children was Faith's brother, who at the time of his sister's death was 1 year old.Ray reportedly gave detectives various reasons why Faith had bruises, including a claim that the child bruised easily.Brittany Jones, a foster parent who took Faith in on July 12, 2006, when Faith was 9 days old, disputes those claims."They lied about Faith bruising herself. She was a good child," Jones said Wednesday.Kid
Central Inc. had asked if Jones could take the baby girl as a foster
child. Jones said an official later told her Faith had cocaine in her
system when she was born."When I got her, she was fine and acting like a normal baby," she said.In
January, after Faith's brother, Micah Ray, was born Dec. 1, 2007, Jones
said she was approached by Children's Home Society about adopting him.
At the time of his birth, Jones said Micah had several heath issues,
including asthma.Jones said she could not handle both children,
so Children's Home Society told her that several married couples would
be willing to take the children because they did not want to separate
them.Faith was then turned over to the Rays on March 10, 2008,
Jones said. Before the adoption, Jones said she met the Rays on two or
three occasions so that they could get acquainted with each other.Jones
said after the adoption she never saw Faith again, because every time
she called to set up a time or place they could met, she couldn't get
ahold of Ray.Jones felt horrible about what happened to Faith, she said. "I'm glad they finally charged her."

RAY VIOLET LOVE (DOB: 04/05/1974)
AKA : RAY VIOLET

Attorney: PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE

DateCitationCountChargeLevelDegreeDisposition

Charges
		1	MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE	F	CAPITAL
		2	AGGRAVATED CHILD ABUSE	F	FIRST
		3	CHILD NEGLECT	F	THIRD

06/01/2011	HEARING SET			$0.00
	Calendar Posting on 02-16-2011

09/02/2011 HEARING SET $0.00
Calendar Posting on 07-20-2011
08/23/2011 INCOURT COURT MINUTES 0 RAY VIOLET LOVE $0.00
08/23/2011 HEARING RESULTS: RAY VIOLET LOVE $0.00
InCourt Order
Hearing Results: Motion to Compel the State to Produce
Documents - Court reserves ruling. Order to follow.
Motion to Authorize Subpoena Power - No objection from
the State. Granted. Order to follow. Oral Motion to
Continue - Granted. Court to re-set case the first of the
year.

http://casesearch.marioncountyclerk.org/index.cfm?FuseAction=Home.CaseView&Case_id=1317779&CFID=1760383&CFTOKEN=86470098

Jury selection for the Violet Ray murder trial began Monday.

Ray, 38, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child
abuse and child neglect in connection with the 2008 death of her
2-year-old adopted daughter, Faith. Ray has been out on bond since April
2009 and has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
According to a report from the Department of Children and Families, the Marion
County medical examiner concluded that the child died as a result of
multiple blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities.
At the time of Faith's death, Ray and her husband, Joseph, had five other
adopted children, which included the girl's 1-year-old biological
brother. Those children are now in foster care.
The DCF report also found that Ray and her husband were unfit caregivers to any child.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20120514/ARTICLES/120519856

Violet Ray gets life sentence in murder of adopted daughter

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 3:03 p.m

Convicted of murder in the death of her 2-year-old adopted daughter, Violet Ray was sentenced Tuesday to spend the rest of her life in prison.

The 38-year-old Belleview woman was the prime suspect after Faith Ray, her adopted daughter, died of a lethal head injury in December 2008. Ray was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect.

After a weeklong trial in May, a jury found her guilty on all charges. Her defense team had argued the toddler fell and bumped her head and had a medical condition that caused her to bruise easily.

Ray appeared Tuesday with her defense attorneys at her side, embracing Assistant Public Defender Tricia Jenkins, the lead attorney on her case, before the sentencing hearing began.

Ray cried hysterically and was barely able to speak, but she managed to say a few words before Circuit Judge Robert Hodges imposed a sentence.

"I wish that I had died instead," Ray said. She also told the judge how much she loved Faith.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20120828/ARTICLES/120829674?tc=ar