A Schenectady MMA fighter admitted to locking his five-year-old daughter in a bedroom where she starved to death in what prosecutors call a “house of horrors” that exposed multiple children to unimaginable cruelty.
The Discovery That Revealed a Nightmare
Police conducted a wellness check at the Schenectady residence, which revealed conditions defying comprehension. Officers found Taiwan and Rodney Jr., brothers who appeared more ghost than child, covered in layers of dirt and their own waste. The boys were so malnourished and dehydrated that emergency responders immediately transported them to the hospital.
Their sister Treasure made the same journey, but her body had already crossed a threshold from which no medical intervention could pull her back. The home Robert Buskey maintained told a story of systematic deprivation that prosecutors would later describe in terms reserved for the most depraved cases of child abuse.
The Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday morning that 35-year-old Robert Buskey pleaded guilty to causing the 2024 death of his five-year-old daughter. https://t.co/XT30nEBVXw
— NEWS10 ABC (@WTEN) January 23, 2026
Medical Testimony Exposes Extreme Neglect
Emergency room personnel provided testimony that painted a clinical picture of prolonged suffering. The surviving brothers arrived so filthy that staff administered what witnesses described as a “bird bath” cleaning before treatment could begin. One brother consumed food with a desperation medical staff had rarely witnessed, eating so rapidly that it underscored the chronic starvation he had endured. Both boys required bolus fluid interventions for severe dehydration and failure to thrive.
Treasure presented an even grimmer scenario. Medical staff attempted standard IV placement but discovered her blood volume had depleted to such catastrophic levels that her veins were inaccessible, forcing them to try a bone IV, a last-resort procedure that proved futile.
The Cocaine Revelation Deepens the Horror
Prosecutors revealed another disturbing layer to the case when they announced that one child in the home had ingested cocaine. This detail transformed an already nightmarish neglect case into something more sinister, suggesting the children existed in an environment where drugs were accessible alongside the deprivation of necessities like food and water.
The district attorney’s characterization of the residence as a “house of horrors” carried weight beyond rhetoric when viewed against the totality of conditions these children endured. The cocaine exposure raised questions about what other dangers lurked in a home where a father could watch his daughter waste away behind a locked door.
An MMA Fighter’s Unthinkable Admission
Robert Buskey’s background as a mixed martial arts fighter created a jarring contrast with his actions as a father. Combat sports demand discipline, physical awareness, and an understanding of the human body’s limits. Buskey possessed knowledge of what starvation does to a person, yet he subjected his own daughter to exactly that fate.
His admission to murdering Treasure by entombing her in a bedroom and denying her food removed any ambiguity about intent. The confession moves the case toward resolution but leaves fundamental questions unanswered about how a parent crosses the line from neglect to deliberate murder, and how such abuse remained hidden until a wellness check exposed it.
The Broader Implications for Child Protection
This case illuminates failures in systems designed to protect vulnerable children. A wellness check should not be the first intervention when children are dying from starvation in their own homes. The surviving brothers now face long roads to physical and psychological recovery, carrying trauma that will shape their entire lives. Schenectady’s community must reckon with the reality that such extreme abuse occurred within its boundaries undetected.
The MMA community may face uncomfortable questions about whether fighter lifestyle and training commitments create environments where family oversight becomes impossible. However, Buskey’s actions represent individual depravity rather than systemic issues within combat sports.
Sources:
Schenectady MMA Fighter Admits Murdering 5-Year-Old Daughter – Daily Voice
Robert Buskey Coverage – Daily Voice