Parents indicted for second degree murder of infant son

Pictured: Courtney Moore, left, and Ivan Ross, right, have indicted on several charges in connection with the death of their four month old son, as well as other charges of abuse and neglect of two other children. 

By Linda Cicoira

An Eastville area couple was indicted Monday by a Northampton Grand Jury on counts of 2nd-degree murder in connection with the death of their four-month-old son, who was identified only by his initials, “B.R.,” in court records.

Forty-six-year-old Ivan Ray Ross III and his girlfriend, 34-year-old Ashley Marie Moore, of Fox Court, were also indicted on three counts each of abuse and neglect of the deceased baby, his twin, and another young sibling. The two other children are now living with a relative and are not being identified because of their age and the circumstances.

B.R.’s death was listed as occurring between Aug. 29 and Nov. 18, 2024. The two were arrested in July 2025. On Dec. 15, a judge in Northampton Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court certified the charges to a grand jury. Both defendants are free on bond. The punishment for 2nd-degree murder is between five and 40 years in prison. A trial date has not been set.

In court records, a magistrate noted, “Autopsy report showed severe dehydration and blunt force injuries, amongst other results for the four-month-old baby boy.” On another document, a magistrate wrote, “medical examiner found little food in stomach, dehydrated, cracked ribs.”

Records state the defendants are high school graduates. Ross, a native of the Shore, has lived in Northampton County for about three decades. Moore is originally from Delaware. Both have reported getting treatment or counseling for anxiety, depression, and grief.

The abuse and neglect indictments allege Ross and Moore “willfully omitted or refused to provide … necessary care for a child’s health or permit serious injury to the life or health of a child.” The statute lists “serious injuries include but are not limited to disfigurements, fractures, severe burns, severe lacerations, mutilations, maiming, forced ingestion of dangerous substances, and life-threatening internal injuries.” Such offenses carry sentences of between two and 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

The Northampton Sheriff’s Office and the Eastville Police Department began investigating the death after police responded to the Fox Trailer Court to assist EMS with a report of difficulty breathing. From there, the baby was taken to Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, where the death was pronounced.