37 year old Virginia Adams was sentenced to 75 years after pleading guilty to a charge of injuring her child by omission.
In June of 2018, the remains of Rayven Shields were found.
The jury deliberated four hours Thursday afternoon after Adams lawyer asked for 10 to 20 years and the district attorney’s office sought life in prison.
Adams can seek parole in about 27 years, which takes into account her time in jail since her arrest in August of 2018.
Adams boyfriend, who was also indicted, died last April from cancer.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
Virginia Adams, 37, of Bryan was convicted of Injury to a Child By Omission Causing Serious Bodily Injury and sentenced to 75 years in prison by a jury in the 361st District Court.
On July 31 (2018), the Bryan Police Department began a search for Rayven Shields, the three-yearold daughter of the Defendant CPS began searching for Raven after a family member contacted CPS, concerned for Rayven’s welfare.
Rayven began living with the Defendant after the victim’s father, died in June of 2018. The Defendant regained custody of Rayven two days after the funeral of her father, Robert Shields.
When Bryan Police interviewed the Defendant on July 31st, the Defendant lied and said that Rayven was in California with family members. After determining the defendant lied to the police, the defendant then gave other explanations of Rayven’s location. After following up on these explanations, police determined that Rayven was not at any of the locations given by the Defendant.
Police then conducted a search of the Defendant’s residence. This search included a K-9 specifically trained in locating human remains. The K-9 alerted to a garden area of the yard, where Raven’s skeletal remains were located.
Rayven’s remains were examined by the University of North Texas’s Center for Human Identification. Due to the level of decomposition, a forensic anthropologist was asked to examine the skeletal remains to determine the cause of death. The forensic anthropologist found multiple skull fractures and rib fractures. Ultimately, the forensic anthropologist, after consulting with experts at Dell Children’s Hospital, determined that the cause of death was child abuse.
During the trial, Dr. Marion Forbes of Dell Children’s Hospital testified that Raven had been severely abused on multiple occasions over a 30 day period prior to her death.
This case was investigated by Bryan Police Department with the help of Child Protective Services, Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, Dell Children’s Hospital and the UNT Center for Human Identification.