Two Mooresville parents are facing first-degree murder charges following the death of their 3-month-old daughter, who investigators say suffered severe malnutrition and dehydration before she died in May.
Kendal Lee Hayes, 34, and Glenn John Delgreco II, 33, were served with first-degree murder indictments on Sept. 15 while being held at the Iredell County Detention Center. Both were ordered held without bond on the new charges.
The case began on May 13, when deputies responded to a home on Brawley School Road in Mooresville after receiving a report that CPR was being performed on an infant. First responders continued lifesaving efforts before the baby was taken to Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators later found that the infant had lost approximately one-third of her body weight since birth and was suffering from severe malnourishment and dehydration. Authorities said there were significant signs of medical distress, but the child did not receive necessary medical treatment before her death.
An autopsy conducted as part of the investigation determined that the infant died from severe protein-calorie malnutrition due to caregiver neglect. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. The child’s name has not been publicly released.
Hayes and Delgreco were not the only adults facing charges in the case. The infant’s grandparents, Alice Loraine Evans and Thomas Virgil Evans, also lived at the home, and investigators said all four adults shared responsibility for the child’s care and safety. The parents and grandparents were initially charged with felony child abuse and aiding and abetting.
The four adults were arrested on those initial charges in June. The investigation continued as detectives gathered evidence and obtained the autopsy findings. On Sept. 2, investigators presented the evidence to an Iredell County grand jury, which returned first-degree murder indictments against Hayes and Delgreco.
Hayes and Delgreco remain in the Iredell County Detention Center without bond as the case moves forward. The grandparents continue to face the previously filed felony charges.
The charges are allegations, and the defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.
