infoMan, 40, is charged with abusing and murdering his adopted siblings

Man, 40, is charged with abusing and murdering his adopted siblings

Michael Anthony Gray Jr. is charged with abusing and murdering his adopted siblings - days after his mom and \ndad pleaded not guilty to horrific abuse of the children and killing a young girl in their care.

Michael Gray Sr., 63, and Shirley Gray, 60, pleaded not guilty Monday in Roane County to the murder charge and dozens of other crimes, including abuse. Officers say they also discovered the couple's son, aged 15, locked in a basement of their home.

Gray Jr. was on Wednesday charged with felony murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect and abuse of a corpse.

Authorities began investigating the family in May after a little boy was spotted walking alone along a County road.\nInvestigators quickly discovered the skeletal remains of the girl, identified as Sophie Gray, in a barn at the Roane County property, after which Michael Gray Sr. confessed to burying her there.

She had been locked in the basement for a few months before her death in 2017, while a 15-year-old boy was locked in the basement for four years, according to the warrants.

A search of the Knox County home is said to have uncovered the remains of Jonathan Gray.

The state Department of Children?s Services removed three children, ages 11 to 15, from the home on the day the couple were arrested.