Court Upholds Life Sentence In Beating Death

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An Oklahoma court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of a 40-year-old man for the beating death of his 10-year-old stepson.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the decision Tuesday in the case of Lancey Darnell Ray. Ray was convicted of first-degree murder by a Comanche County jury for the Dec. 23, 2010, death of Malik Ray.

Lawton police say Lancey Ray was arrested after he and his wife took Malik to a hospital the day before he died. Doctors said head-to-toe bruises and strap marks on the boy’s thighs and behind his ears were likely caused by abuse. An autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office says the boy died from multiple blunt force trauma.