Parents now charged with capital murder for death of one-year-old

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - The parents of a malnourished one-year-old who died in June are now being charged with capital murder.

Christian Bishop-Torrence and Sage Wright were also both indicted in September on two charges of abandonment of a child and one charge of injury to a child.

Arrest affidavits state the child was brought to an emergency room and was not breathing. Staff there told police that the one-year-old weighed just over eight-and-a-half pounds and had sores and dirt on her skin. A United Regional doctor told police a child at this age should weigh between 22 and 24 pounds.

The affidavits state that Torrence was about to leave his house with a friend when he checked on the child beforehand. He reportedly told officers that he found the child struggling to breathe, and he then had his friend drive them to the hospital.

During the investigation, medical experts told police they believed the child was not getting proper nutrition since likely October of last year.

The affidavits state Torrence told officers that he noticed in March of 2020 that the child had been losing weight. In a separate interview, Wright reportedly told officers that she had made Torrence aware of the problem in January 2020.

Sage and Torrence both admitted to investigators that they failed to seek medical attention for the child as she continued to lose weight.

After pulling medical records, investigators found that the child was not taken for her 2 month, 6 month, 9 month nor 12 month wellness checks, and a medical expert told police the child likely stopped receiving adequate nutrition sometime after October of 2020.

According to the affidavits, the child’s autopsy report stated there was no acute trauma that would have caused the death, but there were physical findings consistent with neglect.

WFPD detectives obtained warrants and arrested the parents on June 18, 2021. The suspects have a bond of $1.6 million each.

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