Prosecutors will seek death penalty in adopted child’s death

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a Roane County couple charged with murder in the death of one of their adopted children.

Roane County authorities recovered the body of Sophie Heather Gray in the backyard of Shirley and Michael Gray Sr. last May.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports prosecutors call the girl’s murder “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.”

Deputies have said the girl died after being locked for months in the basement.

Deputies searching the home rescued three other children, including one who had been locked in the basement for four years.

The couple, along with their adult son, also face charges in Knox County in the death of another child.