A baby who died in early February had not been to a doctor in her 6-and-a-half-month life until she was taken to an emergency room two days before her death, and she appeared to have been deprived of adequate food for 16 days prior to her death, an investigator says.

Burleigh County Sheriff's Cpl. Tracy Nelson testified Tuesday afternoon at a preliminary hearing for Stevie Buckley. Buckley, 18, faces a charge of Class B felony manslaughter for allegedly recklessly causing the death of her infant daughter.

Nelson testified that the child died of "chronic starvation and dehydration."

Sheriff's deputies were called to the St. Alexius emergency room at 11:45 p.m. on Feb. 2 for a possible child abuse or neglect report. Buckley had brought her 6-month-old daughter to the hospital; the child was dehydrated and her ribs were showing.

The child was identified in court documents and in testimony as "K.D.," but she is referred to as "Kyra Maylai Drapeau," "Kyra Maylai Buckley" and "Baby K" in Internet postings.

Buckley was arrested and charged with abuse or neglect of a child on Feb. 3, and the infant died early on the morning of Feb. 4. The abuse or neglect charge was dismissed, and she was charged instead with manslaughter.

Buckley pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, as well as charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and minor in possession, on Tuesday after South Central District Judge Tom Schneider found probable cause for the case to proceed to trial based on Nelson's testimony.

Buckley, who appeared in the custody of the sheriff's department, showed no emotion or reaction as Nelson walked through his investigation into the baby's death.

The Women, Infants and Children program, also known as WIC, provides food, information on healthy eating and referrals to health care to low-income women, infants and children younger than 5 years old. During her WIC appointments in South Dakota and North Dakota, Buckley received information about proper nutrition and vouchers to purchase baby formula, which she used, Nelson said.

He testified that Kyra was born July 18, 2008, and weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. On Aug. 7, she weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces at a Women, Infants and Children appointment in Pierre. A nurse urged Buckley to take her child to a doctor, then gave the doctor's nurse information about her, Nelson said. He said Buckley never took Kyra to the doctor, but the baby weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces at an Aug. 26 appointment.

The baby weighed 11 pounds 5 ounces at an appointment in Grand Forks on Oct. 2, where Buckley moved in late September or early October, Nelson said. He said Kyra also weighed that amount on Feb. 2 when Buckley brought her to St. Alexius Medical Center.

Buckley moved to Bismarck on Jan. 1 to attend United Tribes Technical College, Nelson said.

Prior to bringing Kyra to the emergency room on Feb. 2, there was no record of anyone bringing the child to a doctor for any purpose, Nelson said. He said Buckley brought her daughter to the emergency room at 9:40 p.m. because she had diarrhea, was lethargic and would not eat or drink.

An emergency room doctor indicated the baby was severely dehydrated and in respiratory distress, Nelson said. He said the doctor also noted the baby had no fat under her skin, her cheek bones and ribs were sticking out and her belly was bloated. The doctor described the baby as "severely underweight" and "skeletonized," Nelson said.

The doctor also indicated Kyra had a flat spot on her head that was indicative of being left lying in one area for long periods of time, he said.

A pediatrician put the baby on a respirator, gave her fluids intravenously and gave her medications, Nelson said. The fluids and blood transfusions put her weight up to 17½ pounds, he said.

The state medical examiner ruled that Kyra died of "chronic starvation and dehydration" and likely had been "calorically deprived" for 16 days prior to her death, Nelson said. No underlying medical conditions or birth defects were found during the autopsy.

He said Buckley told deputies she would get frustrated when her daughter would not take a bottle and would lay her down on the couch or bed. Though she initially told deputies she had quit drinking and never used drugs, she later said she drinks alcohol on occasion and uses marijuana every other day. Nelson said UTTC security guards were called to Buckley's dorm on Jan. 29 for a loud party call, and people were drinking and there was a strong odor of burnt marijuana.

Buckley took Kyra to daycare at UTTC from Jan. 7 to Jan. 20, but Buckley had to take her daughter out of daycare because she could not provide a certified copy of her birth certificate, Nelson said. He said Kyra was fed at the daycare on eight out of 10 days she attended, and the number of feedings were dependent on how long she was there.

Under questioning from Buckley's appointed defense attorney,Kent Morrow, Nelson said numerous people had contact with Kyra in the days before her death, and most of them did not notice anything wrong with the baby. One person who saw Kyra prior to her death told Nelson she looked like she had fetal alcohol syndrome due to the sunken nature of her face; however, Nelson said there was no evidence of FAS in the autopsy report.

Morrow argued that prosecutors did not provide enough evidence for Schneider to find probable cause that Buckley recklessly caused her daughter's death.

"At most, I think the state has shown negligence, and that's not enough to prove recklessness," he said.

Buckley's next court appearance is scheduled for June 1. She remains in the custody of the Burleigh County Detention Center in lieu of $10,000 cash or surety bond.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)