An Oklahoma mother and her boyfriend are facing murder charges after her 9-year-old son died from what investigators describe as “extreme physical abuse” — injuries so severe that doctors found BB pellets embedded in his internal organs and a massive brain bleed that proved fatal.
Alicia R. Busey, 38, and Steven Duty, 43, were arrested last week and charged with one count of second-degree murder and three counts of felony child neglect in connection with the death of Ruger Boude. Court records confirm both suspects are currently held at the Cleveland County Jail on $5 million bond each, with preliminary hearings scheduled for May 26.
According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers were first called to a local hospital on the night of April 8 after medical staff reported a child with injuries consistent with physical abuse. Investigators determined Ruger had been in the care of his parents immediately before being rushed in for emergency treatment.
Busey brought the boy to St. Anthony’s Healthplex East at approximately 10:39 p.m. When he arrived, medical staff found him unresponsive, with dilated pupils and a collapsed left lung. He was transferred to OU Medical Center for emergency surgery, where doctors identified a massive brain bleed. Ruger was declared dead two days later.
Busey allegedly told investigators that her son had been hurt while fighting with an older brother — but medical evidence told a starkly different story. A subsequent autopsy revealed a fractured left wrist and multiple bruises in varying stages of healing across the boy’s body. Most alarmingly, medical staff found several BB pellets embedded in his soft tissue, including one lodged in his right kidney.
The investigation quickly expanded beyond Ruger. Busey’s three other children — a 10-month-old daughter and two 11-year-old sons — were also found to show signs of prolonged neglect and abuse. Medical screenings at the OU Safe Clinic found that the older boys also had BBs embedded in their bodies, along with multiple healing fractures in their arms and legs, which doctors said was indicative of long-term abuse.
One of the boys required hospitalization after allegedly being struck in the head with a toolbox, leaving him with a severe scalp infection. Authorities also uncovered evidence of educational neglect. Records showed the two older boys were not enrolled in any school, having previously been turned away from an elementary school due to excessive absences.
Ruger’s obituary remembered him as a “Mom’s little man,” who loved working with tools and was “kind to everyone who came into his life.”
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