Homicide

Lesser charges dismissed against mom, grandparents in alleged starvation of then-7-year-old

Associated Press
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FILE-- In this Aug. 7, 2014 file photo, Mary C. Rader, left, and her mother, Deana Beighly, center, are escorted by sheriff's deputies from the courthouse to an awaiting police vehicle in Mercer, Pa. Rader is the mother of an 8-year-old boy who police say nearly starved. On Friday, Feb. 6, 2014, the mother and grandparents of a 7-year-old boy who was so malnourished that one doctor said he looked like a Holocaust survivor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for failing to seek timely medical attention for him. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic,FILE) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2014 file photo, Deana Beighly is escorted from the courthouse to an awaiting police vehicle in Mercer, Pa. Beighley is the grandmother of a boy who police say nearly starved. On Friday, Feb. 6, 2014, the mother and grandparents of a boy who was so malnourished that one doctor said he looked like a Holocaust survivor when he was found at the age of 7, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for failing to seek timely medical attention for him. District Attorney Robert Kochems had argued the adults purposely withheld food from the boy at his grandmother's urging because she didn't like him. His siblings were well-fed and healthy, the DA said. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) (The Associated Press)

A Pennsylvania judge has dismissed the least serious charges against the mother and grandmother of a 7-year-old boy who was allegedly being starved last year, and all but one charge against the boy's grandfather.

The (Sharon) Herald (http://bit.ly/1zFAh1f ) reports a Mercer County judge threw out unlawful restraint and false imprisonment charges against 28-year-old Mary Rader and her mother, 48-year-old Deana Beighley. That's because the judge found no evidence that the women forcibly kept the boy, who is now in foster care, in their Greenville home.

The judge also dismissed all but a child endangerment charge against the boy's step-grandfather, 59-year-old Dennis Beighley, saying he didn't directly care for the boy, but had some knowledge of the boy's condition.

The women remain jailed and charged with attempted murder and conspiracy.

Their attorneys could not immediately be reached.

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Information from: The Herald, http://www.sharon-herald.com