Police say 9-year-old Ruger Boude had a brain bleed, a collapsed lung and BBs lodged in his body.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A Cleveland County mother and her boyfriend have been charged in the death of her 9-year-old son after police said the boy arrived at a hospital with injuries that pointed to physical abuse.

Alicia Reanne Busey, 38, and Steven Dewayne Duty, 43, are accused in the death of Ruger Jay Andrew Boude, a boy whose case is now recorded by Oklahoma City police as the city’s 23rd homicide of 2026. Court records cited in reports list one count of second-degree murder and three counts of felony child neglect against each defendant. The charges remain accusations, and the case has not been tested before a jury.

The investigation began late April 8, when police said officers were called to an area hospital about a 9-year-old who appeared to have injuries consistent with physical abuse. Police listed the incident time as 10:39 p.m. and the location as the 13000 block of SE 104th Street. Investigators later said Ruger had been in the care of Busey and Duty before he was taken for emergency treatment. “The investigation is in the early stages and will take time to complete,” police said when announcing the case May 4.

Medical staff first saw Ruger at St. Anthony’s Healthplex East, where reports based on a probable cause affidavit said Busey brought him at about 10:39 p.m. He was unresponsive, his pupils were dilated and his left lung had collapsed. He was moved to OU Medical Center for emergency surgery. Doctors there found what was described as a massive brain bleed. Police said he died April 10, two days after the hospital call. His obituary lists April 11 as his date of death, a one-day difference noted in local coverage.

Investigators said the medical findings did not match the first explanation given to police. Busey allegedly told detectives that Ruger had been hurt while fighting with an older brother. An autopsy and medical exams later found a fractured left wrist and bruises in different stages of healing across his body. Reports said medical workers also found several BB pellets embedded in his soft tissue, including one lodged in his right kidney. Authorities have not said publicly who fired or placed the BBs, when the injuries happened or how long Ruger had been hurt before he reached the hospital.

The case widened after doctors examined other children in the home. Ruger’s two 11-year-old brothers were taken to the OU Safe Clinic and interviewed by forensic specialists, according to reports on the affidavit. Doctors reportedly found BBs embedded in their bodies as well, along with healing fractures in their arms and legs. One child required hospital care for a serious scalp infection after he was allegedly hit in the head with a toolbox by a sibling. Police and prosecutors have not publicly described the condition of the 10-month-old girl also named in reports as part of the household.

Authorities also documented suspected medical and educational neglect. Records cited in reports said the two older boys were not enrolled in school at the time police investigated. They had previously been denied by an elementary school because of excessive absences, according to those records. The neglect counts are tied to the surviving children as well as the conditions investigators said they found. Officials have not released a full child welfare history for the family, and it remains unclear whether any outside agency had prior contact with the household before Ruger’s hospital admission.

Busey and Duty were arrested April 29 and booked into the Cleveland County Jail. Police announced the arrests May 4, saying both had been interviewed and booked on complaints of murder and child neglect. The Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office later filed charges, according to local reports. Bond was set at $5 million for each defendant. Their next listed court step was a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 26, where prosecutors would be expected to show enough evidence for the case to continue toward trial.

Ruger’s obituary described him as a second grader who liked music, tools, trailers, animals, swimming at the lake and sitting around a fire. It said his favorite colors were red, black and John Deere green, and that he liked fixing things and giving small gifts. Family members described him as a “big boy helper” and “Mom’s little man.” The obituary said he was preceded in death by his father, Timothy Jay Anthony Boude, and survived by his mother, siblings and family pets.

The homicide case remains active as police, medical specialists and prosecutors sort through records, interviews and forensic findings. As of May 27, court proceedings were the next public milestone, with Busey and Duty held on high bond while the charges move through district court.

Author note: Last updated May 27, 2026.