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Parents obsessed with playing Dungeons & Dragons, leave babies to starve

They were too busy playing video games

By Dan Freeman, GameRush Entertainment


Posted July 15, 2007
U.S. authorities say a couple from Reno, Nevada was so obsessed with playing video games online that they left their babies to starve.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the parents have now pleaded guilty to child neglect after their 22-month-old boy and 11-month-old girl were found severely malnourished and close to death.

The girl, weighing just 10 pounds, reportedly had to have her head shaved because it was matted with cat urine. She also suffered from a mouth infection, dry skin, and severe dehydration. Her brother was treated for starvation, a genital infection, and, due to lack of muscle development, difficulty walking.

The children are now doing well and regaining weight in foster care. Their parents, Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, now face up to 12 years in prison. Prosecutors say the couple was too distracted playing Dungeons & Dragons online to give their children proper care.

“They had food, they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games,” said Kelli Ann Viloria, a public prosecutor.

Straw is an unemployed cashier and his wife does warehouse work for a staffing agency. The couple reportedly spent a $50,000 inheritance on computer equipment and a plasma television.