Ry jolen Browning was born on July 11th 2010 in Beckley West Virginia to parents Marty Browning and Janice selatin risten on July 6 2014 Janice would go on to marry ry’s stepfather Jeremy risten rley had many siblings and stepsiblings including Wyatt Jace Jaden jayen Jacob and hie rley was a sweet girl who was described as quiet but kind she had strawberry blonde hair blue eyes and a sweet smile her mother referred to her as Sunshine from the day she was born to her really was the brightest thing in the world she was her Sunshine like many
little girls reallyy wanted to be a teacher when she grew up she longed to see the ocean and ride a horse ry’s favorite holiday was Christmas she loved Disney Princesses her favorite being Rapunzel from the time rley was born until she was 2 years old she lived with her parents Marty and Janice however Janice had substance use issues and her relationship with Marty quickly became toxic and abusive this ultimately led to the couple’s separation soon social services intervened and a judge gave Janice and Marty a few months time to
clean up their lives in September of 2012 they returned to court where a mediator set up a 50/50 cussy arrangement for rley from the ages of 2 to 4y spent Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday with her mother and the remaining 3 days with her father during this time Marty began a romantic relationship with a woman named Julie tichnell a single mother of three and a local pageant Queen soon the new couple moved in together when rley was about 4 years old Marty and Julie moved to Mount Lookout West Virginia which lies within the
boundaries of Nicholas County although this was in direct violation of their custody agreement the couple took rayley with them Marty never told his exwife that they were planning to move and did not provide her with their new address when Janice tried to contact him Marty ignored her calls and texts since Janice and Marty still shared a 50/50 custody split and Janice had not seen Ry for 4 months she filed a complaint through family courts doing so she was able to obtain Marty and Julie’s new address in Mount Lookout throughout our story Marty
and Julie would go on to move twice more and fail to notify Janice of their whereabouts rather than punish Marty for contempt he was rewarded you see over the next few years Jan began having some personal legal issues which she was battling in court due to this her time and interactions with rley were spotty and inconsistent eventually Marty was given primary custody of his daughter during the weekdays and rley began attending Mount Lookout Elementary School also living in Marty and Julie’s Mount Lookout home were Julie’s three
biological children and her sister Sher tichel ry’s time with her blended family was anything but the joyful and carefree childhood that most kids experience according to one of Julie’s biological daughters she had many memories of her time withy and none of them were heartwarming she described her Aunt Sherry as the boss of the household she was the main caretaker for all four children including rley she claimed that Sherry had a particular dislike of her because she was of A different race she also had problems with rayy because she
was not Julie’s biological child Julie’s daughter said thaty was was just kind of there in the house and that she didn’t interact with her very often however she did not that rley was often in trouble with Sher she said that Sher often struck rley with her hands or other objects she would push the little girl around once pushing her into a cat litter box that was in the hallway she also mentioned that rley was always being punished even when she hadn’t done anything that warranted punishment essentially reallyy became the family
scapegoat which is a concept we’ve discussed at length in many episodes prior Julie’s daughter also noted that reallyy slept on a mattress on the floor in Sherry’s bedroom sometimes she was forced to wear pull-ups long after she was potty trained one horrific memory Julie’s daughter recalled was when she heard a loud bang sound coming from the room that Sherry shared with rley she said that she didn’t see the little girl again until the next day when rley eventually resurfaced from the room she refused to walk or stand on her own she
looked more upset than usual Cherry’s response was to tell Ray Lee suck it up buttercup most people would have been carrying or nurturing to ry’s pain but Sherry insisted that she was behaving that way for attention acting out for attention was a theme that came up often in our research of ry’s case according to reports the adults in the household claimed that rley began picking at her skin in order to Garner her reaction they also claimed that she urinated on mattresses and random objects in the house however it’s clear whether or not
any of these claims are true as you’ll soon see Marty Julie and Sher are not the most reliable narrators eventually the adults in the home decided to take rley to the hospital to be examined when asked what happened to the little girl Sherry told the doctors thaty kicked the wall and broke her femur she also told the doctors that rley was a difficult child with tantrums and meltdowns this was not the first time that rayley had been in the hospital hospital for a suspicious injury allegedly reallyy had been seen several
times between 2011 to 2018 for an array of injuries the doctors contacted child protective services and soon CPS began investigating Ry in the adults in the house in preparation for the CPS investigation Sher told Julie’s daughter to lie to the case workers if she was questioned about how rley had broken her femur even though she knew it was wrong she was was afraid to tell the truth and therefore did what her Aunt Sherry asked her to do when questioned she told the CPS case workers that rley kicked the wall and caused the injury to
herself Julie’s daughter was not the only one who noticed things were out of place with rley her teachers at Mount lout elementary school noticed that she was covered in bruises and was chronically hungry Marty Julie and Sherry told the school thaty had an eating disorder allegedly they said she would binge food Purge and then binge again they also told the school thaty had a mood disorder and was a danger to herself these were the ridiculous reasons that were given to explain ry’s bruises and constant hunger according to
Carrie celberty who was one of ry’s teachers she was a very normal happy happy go-lucky funloving child I saw rley every day now to her things did not add up she never witnessed any of these behaviors fromy oring to missil Li berty she saw her in gym health or art class every day she also had lunch duty with ry’s class when she was in the classroom with Ry she was like every other student she sat and did what was asked of her however she saw a shift in ry’s Behavior when they were outside or in gym class unlike the other kids her age reallyy
was clingy and craved adult attention she did not like playing with kids her own age and wanted to be with an adult she also recalled that at the end of the school day rayy asked to stay at School Mrs Silber said she would hang on me she would put her arms around my waist and lock her legs around my legs she would say I love you could you be my mommy it was so obvious she wanted to stay at school Mrs Silber was aware that rley lived with her father stepmother and Cherry she would also visit her mother on the occasional weekend one day she
recalled rley being very upset told the teacher she would no longer be allowed to see her mother allegedly her mother didn’t want to see her anymore she didn’t love her she was having a new baby to replace her although this was obviously very concerning as a curity did not Pressley for more details in addition Toy’s clinginess and desire to stay at school Mrs Silber also noticed that rley had some strange eating habits she said thaty like other students was offered lunch in breakfast every day at school however due to her alleged binge
eating disorder Sher told the teachers that rley was not allowed to have breakfast at school instead she would be fed at home in fact the school nurse had been given a handwritten note claiming that a pediatrician had ordered that reallyy not eat extra snacks due to the supposed binge eating Mrs Sil never saw any signs that Ry was throwing up at school or that she had an eating disorder she only saw a very hungry little girl she said if we had something like m mash potatoes and gravy she would lick her tray she would lick her tray
eat every bite really enjoyed all food except for tomatoes and never threw up at school this plus many other indicators LED Mrs Silber to suspect that reallyy was being abused at home shortly after the incident in which ry’s leg was broken one of the adults in the house called her school and told officials the same story they had provided to the doctors and to CPS case workers that rley had broken her femur during temper tantrum as teachers are mandated reporters Mrs cber contacted Child Protective Services a mandated
reporter is a person who because of their profession is legally required to report any suspicion of CA or neglect to relevant authorities these laws were put in place to prevent children from being abused and to end any possible abuse or neglect at the earliest possible stage to Mrs syber the fact that rley had broken a femur bone was a very concerning she said a broken femur is a significant injury it’s not a common injury and the explanation for the injury did not fit the injury now the femur is the only bone in the thigh it’s
the longest and strongest bone in the body it runs from the hip to the knee and it’s a critical part of a person’s ability to stand and move because of the strength of the femur it usually takes severe trauma like a car accident to break it although there are obviously exceptions here generally speaking kids do not just trip and fall or kick a wall and break their femur as a result another aspect of ry’s life that suggested abuse was her clothing Mrs Silber said that Ra’s clothes were too small were not appropriate for the
temperature outside in August she wore long sleeves and pants even on one of the hottest days of the year on one such day she Gavey a t-shirt so she could take off the pink sweatshirt that she wore most days Whiley was changing into the T-shirt she saw marks and bruising on her body when returned the clothes later on she told Mrs cber that she was not allowed to wear any clothes that teachers gave her the summer after kindergarten was rough ony when she returned to school she had lost a noticeable amount of weight she looked
unhealthy with black circles around her sunken eyes sunken cheeks and pale skin within 3 months of starting first grade Marty and Julie withdrew Ry from public school to become homeschooled with the help of a family friend Len Castle Mrs Silber and her other teachers lost contact with rley after that day without mandated reporters looking out for her ry’s life became a living hell just like they had before reallyy was uprooted to a new home and her mother Janice was none the wiser the family moved to a home on Park Street in oakill West
Virginia which lies within the boundaries of fayet County Julie’s daughter reported that during the day Sher forced rley to walk the hallways of the house from the time she was aake wake until she went to bed she said there were many days thaty would go hungry and not be allowed to eat she recalled that eventually Ry learned she could sneak out of the room at night while Sher was sleeping and go to the kitchen to get something to eat once the adults in the house realized thaty was sneaking out at night to get food
putting an alarm and lock on her bedroom door Julie’s daughter also recalled that on one occasion she had walked past the bathroom and briefly glanced inside there she sawley drinking from the toilet after the adult refused to give her any water some reports have indicated that she was refused liquids for up to 3 days at a time additionally it’s been reported thaty was beaten with metal objects belts and Wooden Spoons in 2018 Ry became sick a few days before Christmas her favorite holiday according to Julie’s daughter she did not see
anyone take Ry food water or medicine as she languished on the floor She said Sherry accused reallyy of fake in the sickness that she was just looking for attention due to this she refused to give her anything to help her feel better around Christmas Eve ry’s breathing worsened Julie’s daughter became scared wheny sounded as she put it like a pug she said it sounded like she was fighting for air or snoring Julie asked rley if she felt sick enough to spend Christmas in the hospital reallyy said that she was but nobody
took her for help after day days of fever trouble breathing lack of food water or medicine things took a turn for the worse on December 26 2018 Sherry called 911 emergency services were dispatched to the home for a report of a child having a seizure Angela Coleman an EMT worker observed rayley as she was carried out of the oakill residence by Sherry according to Sherry rley had simply Fallen while getting out of the shower EMT Coleman described Sherry as emotionless as she handed ry’s lifeless body to the other EMT on the scene ry’s
body was blue it appeared that she was not breathing she was observed to have splotches all over her body after another EMT lifted rley shirt in order to attach a defibrillator pad the pair attempted to resuscitate her but unfortunately they were unsuccessful ultimately rley was taken by ambulance to Plateau Medical Center in oakill West Virginia Ry arrived at the emergency room of Plateau Medical Center at 11:55 Dr dilip godara was the attending physician who led the treatment of Ry he said a team of nurses worked to
resuscitate Ry giving her IV fluids and Medicine checking her heart rhythm attempting CPR and Performing other life-saving measures rley was so cold when she arrived at the hospital that her temperature did not register with hospital equipment she was not breathing and had no pulse unfortunately their efforts were in vain 32 minutes after she arrived at the ER Ry jolen Browning was pronounced dead 12:27 p.m.
members of the team who attempted to save Ry said there were bruises scratch marks Burns and scabs all over her body According to some sources she had injuries consistent with sa these injuries led the medical staff to believe thaty had been abused as a result they did not allow Marty or Julie to see her body after she was pronounced dead one of the nurses toor mcginness said she felt the need to protect ry’s body that in her 18 years of nursing she had never seen a child’s body look the way Ray did when questioned by the police Sherry said she woke up at 9:00
a.m. on December 26 she claimed to have served Ry breakfast in her bedroom and administered three prescriptions next she said that rley got in the shower at 10:30 a.m. and that her nose started to bleed Sherry said the nose bleeds had started several weeks earlier and that a doctor had told her they were the result of ry’s medication she was unsure whether she cleaned up the nose bed in the shower or out of the shower with toilet paper next Sherry told police that reallyy fell when she got out of the shower she said
she carried rley to the bedroom laid her on a mattress that was on the floor and propped her up with pillows according to Sherry Ry was shaking uncontrollably and her pupils were small she told the police that Ra’s blood sugar often dropped but it was not checked daily mind you there was no indication that reallyy suffered from diabetes or any other ailment that would require that her glucose be monitored they just weren’t feeding her appropriately according to Sherry she called 911 immediately afterwards she called Marty
at work and told him to go directly to the hospital according to the police report Sherry drove Julie’s children to a house in Mount Lookout after rley was taken away by ambulance ry’s autopsy was performed at plateau Medical Center in fet County on December 27th 2018 by Dr C meton sisman and Dr Alan mock both chief medical examiners for the state of West Virginia during the autopsy they could not determine if she died as a result of homicide or natural causes so her manner of death was listed as undetermined rley
had severe necrotizing Bronco pneumonia which is an infection that causes lung tissue to die her cause of death was likely a period of sepsis where the lung infection spread into the blood her lung was in the beginning stages of fibrosis or Scar Tissue which takes a few days to appear ry’s shortness of breath would have been obvious to everyone around her this type of pneumonia can cause disruption and coagulation which can cause blood to pull in the surface of her skin giving a rash or bruise-like appearance in addition her skin would
have looked Ashen it was determined that dehydration and malnutrition would have made a patient more vulnerable to sepsis and rayy was below the fifth percentile for weight the report also included that aside from the discoloration caused by the infection really had injuries to our body that included bruises Burns and lacerations one particular burn on her right leg looked like it could have been caused by a lit cigarette in addition ry’s autopsy revealed that she was on an alarming number of strong psychiatric
medications just 8 years old Ry was taking seven medications normally prescribed for mood disorders in autism it’s unclear if rley was indeed Autistic or suffered from any sort of actual psychiatric condition it was more likely that the adults in her life used these medications to subdue and control rley more on that in a bit due to the circumstances surrounding ry’s death the oakill police department launched a fullscale investigation almost a year later on Monday December 9th 2019 Sherry was arrested and charged with child
neglect or CA resulting in death as well as death of a child by a parent guardian or custodian both were felony charges Julia and Marty turned themselves in and faced the same charges Bond was set at $100,000 for each of them the Tiel sisters managed to post bond on December 14th while Marty posted Bond on December 26th the oneyear anniversary of ry’s death oakill police chief Mike wisman said the department invest investigation had been initially slowed because the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources did not provide Ra’s
records to police the time of her arrest Julie was the reigning Miz Oakley Festival following her arrest pageant officials stripped her of the title during a search of the family home a claw hammer and an adult toy were found in the room that rayy shared with Sherry during the trial two family members were called to serve as Witnesses Julie and Sherry’s sister Angela Young testified that the trio asked her to lie and say that rley had been healthy on Christmas of 2018 Angela said she refused to do that because she had not seen rley that day
in person or by video call Julie’s daughter also testified about how rley was mistreated in the home she walked the jury through her years of pain and howley’s basic human rights were denied she was clear that the adults knew what they were doing was wrong and they continued to abuse and neglect her until the day that she died medical personnel who were there the day Ry was rushed to the hospital also testified they reported that Julie arrived at the hospital prior to Marty’s arrival from work when Marty finally
arrived he appeared rattled and upset however Julie did not appear phased she had the G to ask how long the procedures usually take this was after that she learned that Ry was already dead there was no doubt in the minds of many that really died because she did not receive treatment for her illness several medical experts testified that reallyy would have had a fever and felt sick for over a period of days Dr Alan mock testified that aggressive antibiotic therapy and other treatments up to mechanical ventilation would have saved
her life he said that a walk-in clinic or physician would have been able to treat Ry if her caregivers had sought help for her however during the trial Moore was uncovered about her medical and psychiatric background when questioned about the strong psychiatric medicines rley was on Dr Alan mock reported that ry’s caregivers had provided information to her psychiatrist which contradicted reports by her teachers he said most telling to me are reports from the schools because the schools are independent and they can
make observations when the school denies any disruptive behavior makes me question the diagnosis and the veracity of the parents accounts another strange detail that Dr Mock reported was that the caregivers told psychiatrist that she was binge eating despite being underweight these among many other details did not add up a second expert Dr Joan Phillips testified that ry’s records show she was the victim of medical abuse Dr Phillip said she had practiced for 22 years as a pediatrician and had never seen a child ry’s age on
that many psychiatric drugs she said it appeared that Ra’s caregivers had withheld information from some of ry’s doctors and gave false information to others medical abuse formerly known as munchow and by proxy occurs when a caregiver lies to Medical providers so that a child receives unnecessary medical procedures and medicines Ry had also been diagnosed with autism and eating disorder a binge eating disorder behavior disorder self-mutilation borderline personality disorder anxiety disorder and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder during closing arguments special prosecutor Brian Parson left jurors with more questions than answers he told the jury that rley was already dead when Sherry called 911 on December 26 2018 he pointed out that when rley arrived at Plateau Medical Center by ambulance within 15 minutes of the call ER staff could not get a temperature because medical thermometers do not record temperatures lower than 84° how could her temperature plummet from above 98.
6 to 84° in that short amount of time it was obvious that rley had been dead for hours at least he left the jury with these lasting powerful statements that ry’s last words on the record at least were I want to go to the hospital she was desperate to save her own life he then reminded the jury that fet County would be judged by how they treated Ry after her death he said I implore you don’t let rley down jurors entered deliberations on the sixth day of the trial it should be noted that special prosecutor Parsons had to be appointed in the case in order to avoid a conflict
of interest as it just so happens Mrs silber’s husband Anthony happened to be the fayet County Prosecuting Attorney as Mrs celbrity was a witness in ry’s case the change in Council was needed in the end jurors found Marty Julie and Sherry not guilty of CA resulting in death however they were found guilty of child neglect resulting in death on Friday August 12th 2022 judge Paul Blake sentenced the three adults to 3 to 15 years in prison all are eligible for parole after 3 years during and after the trial the lack of support and
followup from CPS left people feeling uneasy and wondering if by dropping the ball they were partly to blame for the death of Ry Browning the argument focused on how the system set up to protect rayy failed because her caregivers knew how to abuse the system based on court documents Nicholas County CPS failed to provide help for Ry despite teachers and others having made more than a dozen referrals over the course of the year and a half that rley attended Mount Lookout Elementary School Mrs Sil birdie said she made a referral
to CPS because of ry’s broken femur another referral was made after rley showed her bruises and scabs on her legs there was an additional referral made by ry’s first grade teacher after she observed a handprint onley’s upper arm Mrs Silber said she has no recollection of ever being interviewed by CPS for those referrals though she does remember sitting in when rley was interviewed by CPS she said the interview was conducted by Joseph saurin a CPS supervisor after interviewing Ry Mr sauren said I do not believe rley is an abused child I
believe she is a targeted child and I believe that the children are very well coached CPS employee Briana Baker testified that she was part of at least two referrals that investigated the alleged abuse Ry received while the Browning tional home she said those claims of abuse were found to be unsubstantiated special prosecutor Parsons asked Ms Baker about the referral ry’s teacher Mrs Sil birie testified to have made regarding ry’s broken femur Miss Baker said she was never notified of such a referral Mrs Sil birdie stated she completely
disagreed with CPS workers assessment of ry’s case during the trial a CPS worker who took the stand could not even provide basic information about ry’s case because rley was pulled from public school to be homeschooled by Sherry there were no additional referrals made to CPS Len Castle a family friend said she would often help homeschool the children she claimed that she did not see signs that rley was abused or neglected Miss Castle said she had been informed of Ra’s overeating habits and also observed on one occasion really
eating until she vomited and then later asking for more food she also testified that she was in the home off and on in the 3 days prior toley’s death Miss Castle said during that time rley had a sniffle but she did not consider reallyy to be sick in response to the suspected negligence of Nicholas County CPS in the case of rley Browning a new law was sponsored by the house of delegates known as ry’s law or HB 4440 this law would prevent people who have an open CPS case from homeschooling in addition it would also
prevent people who have a criminal record of CA neglect or DV from homeschooling a national homeschool legal defense group opposes the bill state law does not require homeschool Educators to report suspected CA or neglect surprisingly by contrast teachers and public school administrators are mandatory reporters of CA state law does not require a homeschool education Cooperative or Association to verify that member students were legally withdrawn from public school well there are many more areas that need to be regulated when it
comes to homeschooling this law is a good start for the state of West Virginia and for other states to look to as an example is far too easy to pull a child out of Public School away from mandated reporters and keep them isolated in the home where abuse often escalates to homicide according to ry’s former teacher Mrs Silber Public School teachers are often the only safety net these children have is absolutely not my intention or the intention of this law to take any rights away the intention is to protect innocent children to be clear
we do support parents who want to homeschool their children however homeschooling does not allow for third parties such as those at a public school to witness signs if they suspect a child is being neglected or abused homeschooling is not the issue here the issue is Abus of parents wanting to trap their children at home where they have little to no opportunity to seek help ry’s funeral was held on January 12th 2019 at Tyrie Funeral Home in oakill West Virginia with Pastor Richard Allen officiating she was laid to rest at Lee
web cemetery near Dothan her black granite headstone displays an etching of the little girl’s smiling face in happier times an image of Rapunzel and the words step lightly My Sunshine rests here Janice posted a poem by Liz Newman on her Facebook page in memory of her Sunshine Ry jolen Browning it read my heart in all its Brokenness will always look for you chasing down a familiar scent following the trail of a favorite memory Relentless in its Pursuit every morning feeling the ache of that now familiar wound of navigating
a light life a story whose chapters were too few but what a legacy you’ve left in the chapters you were here and what a story that you’ve left a love that perseveres my heart in all its hopefulness will always look for you cherishing these sometimes painful memories holding them tightly to feel you with me too your absence brings a deep and lingering ache but your love persists here too you a bond that will never break that will comfort and continue so it seems no matter what I do my heart will always look for you in
everything I do in every memory old and new my heart will always look for you
