Couple that starved baby lose custody of their three children

SEATTLE — A Washington couple convicted of starving their baby daughter because the mother feared the child would get too fat have lost permanent custody of their three young children.

The Seattle Times reports that King County Superior Court Judge Patricia Clark made that ruling Monday after hearing from Brittainy and Samuel Labberton and mental health providers who have worked with the couple.

The Times says the couple’s two oldest children — girls now ages 3 and 4 — live together in the same foster home. A 14-month-old boy lives in another foster home.

The 22-year-old woman is pregnant with the couple’s fourth child.

The newspaper says the couple have no permanent address and could not immediately be reached for comment.

The parents pleaded guilty in 2010 to third-degree criminal mistreatment. That case involved a daughter hospitalized in 2008, at age 2 months, for failing to gain enough weight. They were given a suspended one-year sentence.

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