Susan Abney, 46, Tuesday afternoon was sentenced to life in prison for neglect of a child resulting in death following the 2020 starvation death of her adopted daughter, Josie Ann Abney.
She had earlier pled guilty and did not undergo a trial.
During sentencing in a Steelville courtroom Tuesday, judge Michael Randazzo addressed Abney, saying that sentencing was his chance to speak on Josie Ann Abney’s behalf. Randazzo said that Susan Abney had a chance to give Josie life, but instead took that from Josie.
Public Defender Chad Picker, who represented Susan Abney, spent much of his time speaking about the remorse that Abney felt for her choices.
Dent County Prosecutor Andrew Curley said Tuesday to the judge that Josie can’t be brought back, but that Randall and Susan could be brought to justice. He also acknowledged, that unlike her husband, Randall, Susan did not cling to a lie that somehow Josie had starved herself.
Randall Abney, 53, Susan’s husband and the adoptive father of Josie Ann Abney, was found guilty in August in a Dent County courtroom of second-degree murder and abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death and is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 18.
Abney and his wife Susan were charged after their adopted daughter Josie Ann Abney died at Salem Memorial District Hospital Oct. 3, 2020. At the time Josie weighed only 34 pounds, had a blood sugar level of 10 and was so dehydrated a blood sample could not be drawn. Her protruding bones and emaciation were described by law enforcement as though she “appeared like a Holocaust victim.”
A search of the Abney home later that day found its refrigerator equipped with a lock, the lock on the door to Josie’s bedroom reversed and a loud alarm installed to sound if the door were opened. Josie’s room had only a mattress with a blanket. Her bedroom closet was also equipped with a lock. Meanwhile, in the parents’ bedroom, various sweets such as candy, crackers and cookies were found. A plate of fried chicken was located in the home's kitchen, which the Abneys claimed was to be Josie’s dinner.
The centerpiece of Randall Abney’s trial was the testimony of Susan Abney against her husband. Susan claimed on the witness stand the idea of punishing Josie through food deprivation originated with Randall for when Josie didn’t do chores such as cleaning or doing laundry. She told prosecutor Curley these punishments escalated in time and were eventually handed down for not doing chores fast enough, then finally for Josie trying to eat food. Josie was also punished by having her blanket taken away and locking her out of her closet so she couldn’t keep warm at night by lying in her clothes.
Susan also claimed she tried to sneak Josie food when home alone with her, but Josie couldn’t keep it secret and would tell Randall when he got home, leading to more food deprivation. Susan also said she didn’t seek medical care for Josie because she didn’t know what it would lead to, and what others would think of Josie’s condition. Susan further claimed an ex-husband abused her in a previous marriage, and although Randall had never hit her, she feared his anger if she didn’t do as he wished.
Texts and Facebook messages obtained by law enforcement painted a different picture of Susan Abney’s role during Randall Abney’s trial. The correspondence between Susan and Randall from winter 2019 to fall 2020 reveal them referring to Josie repeatedly as “it,” “stupid” and a “little bitch” among other insults. They also mockingly reference physical punishments Josie received for trying to sneak food away from the refrigerator or from vehicles. They further mock Josie over increasingly desperate attempts to find nourishment. Among the incidents referenced were Josie eating pudding off a school-bus floor, consuming a tube of toothpaste, eating dog food and drinking water from a toilet. At one point, Susan sent Randall a text stating of Josie, “She will eat shit, LOL.”
Josie Ann Abney was born in Poplar Bluff as Jocelyn Abrianna Chadwell on Feb. 6, 2010. Her biological parents were a teenage mother and father from Shannon County. She was placed with Susan and Randall Abney as a foster child when she was only 22 months old. The couple had acted as foster parents to more than a dozen children over four years. They later legally adopted Josie and had her name changed.
See more on this story in the Oct. 18 edition of The Salem News and thesalemnewsonline.com.
