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A man and woman are accused of injuring a child in Killeen by starving him over a period of time in 2022 and 2023.
On Wednesday, a Bell County grand jury indicted Ina Marie Reaka, 28, and Toby Reaka Jr., 29, of Roanoke, Virgina, on a first-degree felony charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
They were released from law enforcement custody after they each posted a bond of $50,000, on Aug. 12, according to court and jail records.
An investigation into the Reakas began on April 26, 2023, when Killeen police were notified that a 3-year-old child "was in McLane's Children's Hospital (in Temple) for severe malnutrition and dehydration," according to an arrest affidavit. "The assigned Child Protective Services caseworker had filed a report after the (child) had been admitted to the intensive care unit on April 21, 2023, after the biological father, Toby Reaka Jr., and the stepmother, Ina Reaka, took the (child) to the hospital."
Forensic nurses at the hospital told the KPD detective "that they had not found a medical reason why the (child) was severely underweight, malnourished or dehydrated," police said. "The (child) was assessed by doctors as frail, underweight, (with) sunken eyes (and) with bones visible in the chest and spine."
Police determined that Toby Reaka was awarded custody of the child when he was 21 months old and weighed 28 pounds.
"When admitted to McLane's Children's Hospital, the (child) was 47 months (almost four years old) and weighed 22 pounds," according to the affidavit. "The (child) was in the 0.01% of his growth chart and had a nearly fatal level of sodium."
Police said that Toby and Ina Reaka were the primary caregivers of the child from 2021 through the date of admission to the hospital.
"The new foster parents had been present with the (child) for a few days in the hospital and reported no eating problems with the (child), who seemed eager to eat anything they gave him," police said. "During his hospital stay, as well as afterward with is foster family, the (child) was able to gain significant weight and regain a healthy weight."
A babysitter who worked for the family from September of 2021 through August of 2022 told police that the child was not allowed to have milk even though he was a baby.
"The babysitter asked Ina Reaka if the (child) was allergic to milk, and she responded that he was not allergic to milk but that she just didn't want him to have milk," according to the affidavit. "On another occasion, the babysitter picked up the (child) and asked Ina Reaka if he was ill. Ina Reaka told her that the (child) was not eating for her anymore and that he was a picky eater. The babysitter spent the whole day with the (child) that day and (the child) had no problems eating."
The babysitter also recounted other times when Ina and Toby Reaka allegedly withheld food and hydration from the child while the child's two siblings were allowed to have snacks and water.
"After the babysitter had been going over to the Reaka house for a long time, she noticed that the (child) seemed sad all of the time and was losing a lot of weight," police said. "She saw that the (child) was treated differently than the other two boys. When the babysitter began to ask questions about the (child), she was told by Ina Reaka that they were not going to need her anymore."
According to police, social media photos documented the child's declining weight.
On Wednesday, a Bell County grand jury indicted Ina Marie Reaka, 28, and Toby Reaka Jr., 29, of Roanoke, Virgina, on a first-degree felony charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
They were released from law enforcement custody after they each posted a bond of $50,000, on Aug. 12, according to court and jail records.
An investigation into the Reakas began on April 26, 2023, when Killeen police were notified that a 3-year-old child "was in McLane's Children's Hospital (in Temple) for severe malnutrition and dehydration," according to an arrest affidavit. "The assigned Child Protective Services caseworker had filed a report after the (child) had been admitted to the intensive care unit on April 21, 2023, after the biological father, Toby Reaka Jr., and the stepmother, Ina Reaka, took the (child) to the hospital."
Forensic nurses at the hospital told the KPD detective "that they had not found a medical reason why the (child) was severely underweight, malnourished or dehydrated," police said. "The (child) was assessed by doctors as frail, underweight, (with) sunken eyes (and) with bones visible in the chest and spine."
Police determined that Toby Reaka was awarded custody of the child when he was 21 months old and weighed 28 pounds.
"When admitted to McLane's Children's Hospital, the (child) was 47 months (almost four years old) and weighed 22 pounds," according to the affidavit. "The (child) was in the 0.01% of his growth chart and had a nearly fatal level of sodium."
Police said that Toby and Ina Reaka were the primary caregivers of the child from 2021 through the date of admission to the hospital.
"The new foster parents had been present with the (child) for a few days in the hospital and reported no eating problems with the (child), who seemed eager to eat anything they gave him," police said. "During his hospital stay, as well as afterward with is foster family, the (child) was able to gain significant weight and regain a healthy weight."
A babysitter who worked for the family from September of 2021 through August of 2022 told police that the child was not allowed to have milk even though he was a baby.
"The babysitter asked Ina Reaka if the (child) was allergic to milk, and she responded that he was not allergic to milk but that she just didn't want him to have milk," according to the affidavit. "On another occasion, the babysitter picked up the (child) and asked Ina Reaka if he was ill. Ina Reaka told her that the (child) was not eating for her anymore and that he was a picky eater. The babysitter spent the whole day with the (child) that day and (the child) had no problems eating."
The babysitter also recounted other times when Ina and Toby Reaka allegedly withheld food and hydration from the child while the child's two siblings were allowed to have snacks and water.
"After the babysitter had been going over to the Reaka house for a long time, she noticed that the (child) seemed sad all of the time and was losing a lot of weight," police said. "She saw that the (child) was treated differently than the other two boys. When the babysitter began to ask questions about the (child), she was told by Ina Reaka that they were not going to need her anymore."
According to police, social media photos documented the child's declining weight.
