The case centers on 9-year-old Ruger Boude and alleged injuries found after an April hospital visit.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Prosecutors have charged a mother and her boyfriend with second-degree murder and child neglect after police said a 9-year-old boy died from injuries tied to physical abuse.
The case against Alicia Reanne Busey and Steven Dewayne Duty places the death of Ruger Jay Andrew Boude before a Cleveland County court after an Oklahoma City police homicide investigation. Each defendant faces one murder count and three felony child neglect counts, according to reports citing court records. The prosecution will have to prove its claims in court, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted or they enter pleas.
The formal case followed an emergency medical call that police received on April 8. Officers went to an area hospital after staff reported a child whose injuries appeared consistent with physical abuse. Police later identified the child as Ruger, born Feb. 15, 2017. The department listed the incident at 10:39 p.m. in the 13000 block of SE 104th Street. In a May 4 bulletin, police said detectives determined that Ruger had been in the care of Duty and Busey before he was brought for treatment.
Reports based on a probable cause affidavit describe the first medical hours in detail. Busey allegedly brought Ruger to St. Anthony’s Healthplex East late that night. Medical staff found him unresponsive, with dilated pupils and a collapsed left lung. He was taken to OU Medical Center, where doctors performed emergency surgery and found a massive brain bleed. Ruger died two days later, according to police. The public obituary records his death one day later, on April 11, creating a date difference that has not been explained in public filings.
Police said Busey and Duty were arrested April 29 after investigators classified the death as a homicide. They were interviewed and booked into the Cleveland County Jail. Oklahoma City police announced the arrests May 4 and said the district attorney’s office would determine the final charges. Local reports later said the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office filed second-degree murder and child neglect counts. Bond for each defendant was set at $5 million, an amount that kept both in custody as the case moved toward its first major hearing.
The state’s case is expected to depend heavily on medical evidence. Busey allegedly told investigators that Ruger was injured in a fight with an older brother. Doctors and investigators reported findings that suggested a broader pattern of trauma, including bruises in various stages of healing and a fractured left wrist. Reports said an autopsy found BB pellets embedded in soft tissue, with one lodged in the right kidney. Authorities have not said in public records how the pellets entered the child’s body, how many were found or whether a specific object was recovered as evidence.
The neglect counts brought attention to children who survived in the household. Reports said Ruger’s two 11-year-old brothers were sent to the OU Safe Clinic for medical screening and forensic interviews. Those exams reportedly found BBs in their bodies too, along with several fractures that were healing in their arms and legs. Doctors described those findings as signs of long-term abuse. One boy was hospitalized for a serious scalp infection linked in reports to an injury from a toolbox. A 10-month-old girl was also listed among Busey’s children in the household investigation.
Educational records became part of the case as investigators looked beyond the night Ruger entered the hospital. Police obtained records showing that the two older boys were not then enrolled in school, according to reports on the affidavit. A prior elementary school had denied enrollment because of excessive absences. Those details could support the child neglect charges, but prosecutors have not publicly laid out the full theory of each count. The court process is expected to clarify which injuries, records and alleged failures are tied to each child.
Ruger’s public obituary presented a different part of his life. It described him as a proud second grader who loved music, tools and building things. It said he enjoyed “Holler Boys” by Upchurch, liked red, black and John Deere green, and found joy in fixing things and wrapping tools as gifts. “He was kind to everyone who came into his life,” the obituary said. It also described him as a child who loved animals, swimming at the lake, sitting around fires and being with family.
The case now moves through the slower pace of criminal procedure. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 26, where a judge could review whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed. Future steps could include additional hearings, motions over evidence, plea negotiations or a trial setting. Police said early in the case that investigators still needed time to complete their work. Any additional charges, amended filings or changes in bond would appear through the court record.
Busey and Duty are facing the filed murder and neglect charges, and Ruger’s death remained listed as Oklahoma City’s 23rd homicide of the year. The next public turn depends on court action following the scheduled preliminary hearing.
Author note: Last updated May 27, 2026.