LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. – A foster care sex abuse case has taken a chilling turn with the unusual death of a key witness.

The case involves Ronald Graham, 73, who faces 13 sex crimes from when he was a foster father. He was charged in Lincoln County in 2022 for alleged crimes while fostering dozens of children with Vicki Graham, who’s now his ex-wife.

“I’m so disgusted, for one. I didn’t see signs sooner and I stuck with him for many years,” she said. “We were together for 27 years before we split.”

This is the first time Vicki Graham has spoken publicly about the case

“It really hit me hard; when you’re listing to this and hearing what these poor kids had to go through,” she said.

Vicki recently learned one of those alleged victims just died where she was living in Oklahoma.

“She got mauled by two dogs. Nobody’s in jail for it. The people still have their dogs, so this girl has been through a lot; all of her life,” she said. “If anybody needs justice, she does.”

Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood agrees.

“Sadly, we lost a victim that was associated with this prosecution,” he said.

The county prosecutor says they have seven other cooperating witnesses.

“We’ve got a number of cases that all are going to carry up to life in prison, so we’re going to seek the maximum on that,” he said.

Graham no longer has his foster care license, but he remains free on bond in St. Charles. His address is listed as being on 4th Street, where a FOX 2 News crew knocked on his door. No one answered.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Angel Kurtley said. She’s the sister of the witness who died.

Kurtley says her sister warned the Missouri Department of Social Services about Ronald Graham, years before the criminal charges.

“…explaining this is what happened to her, but instead of believing her, they just said she was crazy,” Kurtley said.

Wood says his evidence shows that’s not only true, but he added that DSS continued placing kids in Graham’s custody after the warning.

“That’s the information that’s been provided to our office,” he said. “And we’re going to continue to follow that path to see where that goes.”

FOX 2 asked DSS for a comment. The agency responded by saying that information is confidential. Graham’s criminal trial is scheduled for September.