North Carolina Parents Indicted for First-Degree Murder After 3-Month-Old Daughter Dies From Severe Malnutrition

A North Carolina couple has been indicted on first-degree murder charges months after their 3-month-old daughter died from severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to authorities.

The investigation began on May 13, 2026, when deputies with the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Brawley School Road in Mooresville after receiving a report that CPR was being performed on an infant. The baby was transported to Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Investigators later determined that the infant had lost approximately one-third of her body weight since birth and was suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration. Detectives also concluded that she had shown significant and apparent signs of medical distress but had not received the medical treatment authorities said she needed before her death.

The investigation focused on the four adults living in the home. The baby’s parents, Kendal Lee Hayes, 34, and Glenn John Delgreco II, 33, lived there with her grandparents, Alice Loraine Evans and Thomas Virgil Evans. Authorities said all four shared responsibility for the infant’s care, well-being and safety.

On June 11, all four adults were arrested and charged with felony child abuse and aiding and abetting. Hayes and Delgreco remained in custody as investigators continued examining the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.

An autopsy conducted as part of the investigation provided a crucial finding. The medical examiner determined that the infant’s cause of death was severe protein-calorie malnutrition due to caregiver neglect and ruled the manner of death a homicide.

On September 2, investigators presented evidence and the autopsy findings to an Iredell County grand jury. Following that presentation, the grand jury returned indictments charging Hayes and Delgreco with felony first-degree murder.

The new murder indictments were served on Hayes and Delgreco at the Iredell County Detention Center on September 15. Both were ordered held without bond on the new charges.

The grandparents continue to face the earlier felony child-abuse and aiding-and-abetting charges, according to authorities. The murder indictments against the parents represent allegations, and the defendants remain entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.

The case remains ongoing as prosecutors pursue the first-degree murder charges stemming from the death of the infant.

Source: WCNC