As her newborn son lay helpless and malnourished beside her, his eyes sunken and his stomach empty, a mother in Wisconsin and her boyfriend chose to order food for themselves.

Tragically, the infant, named Dev’Kumar Keys, passed away, leading to his mother, 22-year-old Taryn L. Strait, facing an eight-year prison sentence. This decision came after she admitted to felony child neglect, according to court records. Her boyfriend and the child’s father, 27-year-old De’Varius D. Keys, has also pleaded guilty to the same charge and will receive his sentence next month.

As per a criminal complaint accessed by Law&Crime, Dev’Kumar died on February 1, 2024, in Sun Prairie, near Madison. An autopsy revealed the infant had lost over a pound since birth, weighing just 5 pounds. Investigators discovered that Strait and Keys predominantly fed the baby almond milk due to her difficulties in producing breast milk, as she refused to use formula.

“Taryn claimed that every brand of baby formula contained lead. She watched online videos where people demonstrated magnets attracting lead from the formula,” the complaint detailed.

On the day of his death, Strait recounted seeing her baby around 2:30 a.m. in his bassinet at their apartment. Noticing his face was blue, she said he “did not appear OK.” Upon picking him up, he went limp. Instead of calling 911, they opted to drive to the hospital, fearing ambulance costs.

Medical personnel tried to save the boy but he died.

Investigators later learned Dev’Kumar had a doctor’s appointment a few days after his birth. Concerned the boy was losing weight, doctors told the parents to increase his feeding schedule to every two hours. Medical staff set a doctor’s appointment for two weeks later but the parents never showed up and did not answer subsequent messages.

Dane County Child Protective Services was notified and attempted to call the parents but “no one answered so messages were left,” cops wrote. Clinic staff eventually got a hold of Strait and offered appointments in the coming days. But she said it was “too short of notice” and never scheduled any future appointments.

An autopsy confirmed the boy died of starvation and dehydration.

During the sentencing, prosecutors admonished Strait for not putting her son’s needs first.

“You protect and nourish your child,” Assistant District Attorney Will Davis said, per local NBC affiliate WJFW. “Ms. Strait does none of those things.”

Her attorney reportedly blamed her client’s mental health problems along with her addictions to drug and alcohol. Keys was also abusive toward Strait, her lawyer claimed. Strait reportedly apologized, acknowledged her behavior was wrong and said her son’s death will have “a lot of impact” on her for the rest of her life.

Circuit Judge Nicholas McNamara said he couldn’t fathom the selfishness Strait showed by ordering food and having sex with her boyfriend “while the starving baby was there.”

The case also raised questions about CPS, and why it did not do more to help the boy before he died. WJFW obtained a copy of a summary report for Dev’Kumar’s death that said the agency’s initial assessment “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,” the document stated.

It then closed the case. The agency has declined to elaborate on why it did not check on the boy.

Keys is slated to be sentenced on Nov. 20.