GUILTY NY - Garnett Spears, 5, dies of salt poisoning, Chestnut Ridge, 23 Jan 2014

[gitana1]

Reading that indictment - man, what she put him through the last few days of his life! It is so inhumane. Just torture.

She's a monster. I don't care what "condition" she has or why. Just a monster.

And I bet that poor little boy sensed when mom's adrenaline started pumping and her aura changed as she geared up to hurt him again. That's probably why he asked the neighbor to stay with him. He felt the horror was coming again.

This is super, super sick.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

Reading that indictment - man, what she put him through the last few days of his life! It is so inhumane. Just torture.

She's a monster. I don't care what "condition" she has or why. Just a monster.

And I bet that poor little boy sensed when mom's adrenaline started pumping and her aura changed as she geared up to hurt him again. That's probably why he asked the neighbor to stay with him. He felt the horror was coming again.

This is super, super sick.

There is no condition that makes this okay or excusable. She is a murderer. Plain and simple.

 

[K_Z]

Spears told police she sometimes used “a pinch of salt” for flavor when feeding her son and that once in a while he would play with the syringe she used to feed him, claiming it was possible he put something in his tube.

<snip>Spears said that if she gave her son the wrong medication or if she mixed in something that killed him, it was not her fault because those medications were prescribed. She said she did not murder him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...lty-to-poisoning-her-5-year-old-son-to-death/

Yeah, convicted murderer Hannah Overton claimed it was just a "pinch" of spicy creole seasoning in a sippy cup of water. Then blamed 4 year old Andrew Burd for eating a whole bunch of spicy seasoning on his own, causing his own death. Sounds familiar.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6098673&page=1

And for anyone here who has followed the Rebecca Zahau case-- Judy Melinek was one pathologist that testified in the Hannah Overton case that it was Andrew Burd who ate all that creole seasoning dry, on his own.

 

[K_Z]

Regarding when the feeding tube was placed, apparently at 9 months old:

Garnett purportedly had trouble gaining weight and, at 9 months, doctors put in a feeding tube.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...lty-to-poisoning-her-5-year-old-son-to-death/

 

[K_Z]

Gitana1, or anyone-- are the 2 charges in the indictment "either/ or"?

To give the jury a choice? Or can someone be convicted of BOTH murder 2 and first degree manslaughter?

 

[joypath]

Now that I've thought about the charges overnight, I think 2nd degree murder is probably right.

I don't think she wanted to "kill" Garnett-- she wanted to prolong his "sickness" for her own psychological benefit. I think she sort of "overshot" her intended degree of "sickness" with the last salt overdose. She may have even been surprised that he did, in fact, die that time. She's still a killer, IMO, and belongs behind bars for many decades.

BBM

K_Z, I totally agree! I'm sure she was aiming for a nephrology consult as she gradually destroyed his kidneys! His body was putting up one heck of a fight with his claimed desire for H2O, his vomiting & gastric distress trying to eliminate the Na overload! I'm also guessing that her herbal remedies had a few impurities and that she was one liberal doser with the laxatives & NSAIDs, both in concentration & frequency.

She used her knowledge (computer skills), background ("nursing student"), constant relocation and over-all demure presence to try to "buffalo" another group of medical practitioners but her son paid the ultimate price!

 

[joypath]

Reading that indictment - man, what she put him through the last few days of his life! It is so inhumane. Just torture.

She's a monster. I don't care what "condition" she has or why. Just a monster.

And I bet that poor little boy sensed when mom's adrenaline started pumping and her aura changed as she geared up to hurt him again. That's probably why he asked the neighbor to stay with him. He felt the horror was coming again.

This is super, super sick.

BBM:

:twocents::twocents: Resounding Y E S! I'm betting her entire "aura" changed, that she started "telling"/communicating to him all of her perceived "oh woe is me" conditions that now required that he & she become part of the central stage, medical caring people!

I mean REALLY, she expects folks to believe that everything she says is "gospel truth" & accurate...even the tiny table salt for flavor in processed food for a FEEDING TUBE...must have been a super special one with taste buds exposed! :scared::scared:

 

[K_Z]

Interesting indictment-- thank you to Gitana1 for posting the public link.

Very telling that she "offered" to Detective Budnick that she didn't murder Garnett, before he even brought up anything about intentional harming.

Oh-- and her comments about giving Garnet "Himalayan salt". I think that might be easy to determine if he still had any in his GI tract, or in the residual tube feed concoction in the bags (which I doubt)-- there are about 84 separate minerals in Himalayan salt. I'm guessing a competent lab could do an analysis. I'm thinking it was ordinary table salt-- easily obtainable.

http://www.saltnews.com/chemical-analysis-natural-himalayan-pink-salt/

I have a Himalayan salt platter, BTW-- about 2" thick, that I serve shrimp cocktail and other delicacies on. They make lamps out of the stuff, too, that one of our secretaries swears "cleans" the air ionically at her desk. (I just think it's a nice pink glowy trinket!)

Oh-- and her little homey pureed recipes for tube feed, I call BS. I doubt she dripped pureed veggies down that itty bitty tube without it clogging. How in hades would she keep from clogging that itty bitty 9 month old tube for so long? We used to have to put coca cola in them to use like a bio-equivalent "drano" to unclog them, way back when I worked pedes. They crust up and clog easily, when used intermittently. Small diameter in infants.

Also-- if she was giving him human breast milk, there has to be a local donor. I know you can get it on the internet, but I'd bet she had a lactating friend. Hope the investigators looked into that, too.

 

[gitana1]

There is no condition that makes this okay or excusable. She is a murderer. Plain and simple.

Yup.

Gitana1, or anyone-- are the 2 charges in the indictment "either/ or"?

To give the jury a choice? Or can someone be convicted of BOTH murder 2 and first degree manslaughter?

It's "or". Manslaughter is a lesser included. I read that if the grand jury asks about a lesser included, it must be part of the indictment. Like the casey anthony case, the jury had various options ranging from Murder one to manslaughter. http://muldoongetz.com/issue67.html

 

[annahanna]

I doubt she dripped pureed veggies down that itty bitty tube without it clogging. How in hades would she keep from clogging that itty bitty 9 month old tube for so long? We used to have to put coca cola in them to use like a bio-equivalent "drano" to unclog them, way back when I worked pedes. They crust up and clog easily, when used intermittently. Small diameter in infants.

Do you think he still had the same feeding tube that whole time. I thought that they needed to be replaced periodically. (I don't know that for certain.)

 

[LinasK]

Interesting indictment-- thank you to Gitana1 for posting the public link.

Very telling that she "offered" to Detective Budnick that she didn't murder Garnett, before he even brought up anything about intentional harming.

Oh-- and her comments about giving Garnet "Himalayan salt". I think that might be easy to determine if he still had any in his GI tract, or in the residual tube feed concoction in the bags (which I doubt)-- there are about 84 separate minerals in Himalayan salt. I'm guessing a competent lab could do an analysis. I'm thinking it was ordinary table salt-- easily obtainable.

http://www.saltnews.com/chemical-analysis-natural-himalayan-pink-salt/

I have a Himalayan salt platter, BTW-- about 2" thick, that I serve shrimp cocktail and other delicacies on. They make lamps out of the stuff, too, that one of our secretaries swears "cleans" the air ionically at her desk. (I just think it's a nice pink glowy trinket!)

Oh-- and her little homey pureed recipes for tube feed, I call BS. I doubt she dripped pureed veggies down that itty bitty tube without it clogging. How in hades would she keep from clogging that itty bitty 9 month old tube for so long? We used to have to put coca cola in them to use like a bio-equivalent "drano" to unclog them, way back when I worked pedes. They crust up and clog easily, when used intermittently. Small diameter in infants.

Also-- if she was giving him human breast milk, there has to be a local donor. I know you can get it on the internet, but I'd bet she had a lactating friend. Hope the investigators looked into that, too.

I was just thinking about that. So she claims she was home cooking his tube feedings? Not liquid Ensure??? Anything he receives by G-tube would bypass his mouth, even an NG Tube would bypass his taste buds, so there is no need to flavor it with anything, let alone salt!!

 

[K_Z]

Do you think he still had the same feeding tube that whole time. I thought that they needed to be replaced periodically. (I don't know that for certain.)

I agree-- it would be pretty incredible if he still had the same one. Yet, we have heard nothing about it being replaced periodically. And if she approached a new doc, they would surely have to consider if it was still necessary, and perhaps attempt to wean him off.

I hope we will hear more about this. It sounds like he hadn't "needed" a g-tube for quite some time. Lots of people have been quoted as observing him eat with a healthy appetite. He does not appear underweight or sickly in pics.

I'm sure the autopsy has all the info on the state of his body, as well. Such as, if he actually had an esophagus only "25%" the size of normal (Lacey' comments in the indictment). I sincerely doubt that.

 

[gitana1]

I agree-- it would be pretty incredible if he still had the same one. Yet, we have heard nothing about it being replaced periodically. And if she approached a new doc, they would surely have to consider if it was still necessary, and perhaps attempt to wean him off.

I hope we will hear more about this. It sounds like he hadn't "needed" a g-tube for quite some time. Lots of people have been quoted as observing him eat with a healthy appetite. He does not appear underweight or sickly in pics.

I'm sure the autopsy has all the info on the state of his body, as well. Such as, if he actually had an esophagus only "25%" the size of normal (Lacey' comments in the indictment). I sincerely doubt that.

I'm surprised she didn't starve him.

 

[allthehope]

This is my first post on Websleuths, however, I've been a long-time lurker. And, like many who have posted before me, I have followed this case since first learning of Garnett Spears. What that little boy experienced in his short life is heartbreaking and there is no viable excuse for what Lacey Spears did to her child - munchausen syndrome by proxy or not. Child abuse is child abuse, murder is murder.

I finally decided to break my silence and post as I felt I could offer some perspective as to feeding tubes. I am not a parent, however, I am an individual who has experienced living with a feeding tube. I had a J tube (a tube that inserts through the abdomen into the jejunum - it lies in the small intestine) as well as a Corpak tube that functioned as an NJ tube (a tube inserted through the nose and then fed through the stomach and left to rest, again, in the jejunum). While the enteral feeding tubes I had were different from a G tube, which I believe Garnett had, the basic function and care remains the same.

Enteral feeding is necessary for many in order to maintain health and life. I am not in a position to determine whether Garnett required the feeding tube that he had. It is certainly suspicious with the information that we have now, but I do not find blame with the physicians who placed and monitored the tube. I can say, from experience, that doctors do not place feeding tubes unless there is a reason to do so. As an adult, I can speak on my behalf, provide an accurate medical history, and make medical records accessible so that the doctors providing my care can treat me effectively. I do believe that Lacey manufactured events and caused symptoms in Garnett that caused concern and therefore indicated that a feeding tube would be appropriate. In my opinion, the blame falls squarely on Lacey Spears. And, I make no bones about the fact that I hope she is prosecuted to the fullest extent and receives a punishment that fits the crime (although, this is a misnomer as no sentence would be adequate considering she took the life of another human being).

To speak to nutrition received through a feeding tube, it's not a simple process. While tube feeding is not difficult to maintain, proper nutrition can be. Manufactured nutrition is not equal to the nutrition we receive via eating by mouth. And, it is certainly not as pleasurable. While receiving enteral feeding, not only did I see a gastroenterologist and primary care physician on a regular basis, but I was also required to see a dietitian who helped ensure that I was maintaining my weight and receiving nutrition appropriate to my individual needs. At the same time, my GI doctor monitored my condition and determined that the feeding tube was still medically indicated. And, my primary care physician monitored all of my labs in addition to coordinating my care. It was very much a team effort and one hand always knew what the other was doing. I was an active member of that team. While Lacey certainly would have done the same in an effort to boost her status, I shudder to think about how she was manipulating such a delicate situation and my heart shatters when I think of the horrors Garnett endured.

I received my nutrition through a formula sold commercially and which required a prescription. To my knowledge, this is how most formulas are sold - with valid prescriptions. Although, I am not immune to the fact that individuals can purchase such products through other sources. And, there are less expensive preparations available without prescriptions, but, any good doctor would require a dietitian to be involved in the decision-making when choosing a formula. Continued medical management is key. I would say that the vast majority of individuals receiving nutrition through a tube use a commercial product. However, there are some who do puree fruits, vegetables, and other foods in order to use while tube feeding. However, the majority of individuals who do this do so in addition to a commercially available product. In order to achieve proper nutrition, one would need to be acutely aware of their vitamin and mineral needs in order to supplement the fruits and vegetables being used. It is not an easy process and should not be undertaken without close medical supervision. And, it shouldn't be done without the assistance of someone who can monitor labs, weight, and one's overall health.

I think it stands to mention that seasoning for taste is ridiculous. No feeding tube allows an individual to taste the food. Oh, how I wish it would. But, it doesn't happen. Nutrition through a tube is just that. It is for medical necessity, it is to keep one alive, but it is not for pleasure or taste.

The fact that Lacey took it upon herself to abuse her son in this way makes me sick. I have experienced the symptoms relating to electrolyte imbalances and it is a hell I do not wish on anyone. It can be excruciatingly painful and there were times that I'd wish to just go peacefully. I am grateful that my body fought to stay alive and I am immensely thankful to be here today. And, without a feeding tube (although, I did receive life-saving nutrition through a tube only 2 weeks ago and appreciate my doctors and the blessing it is to receive necessary medical care). However, knowing what that little boy experienced is nearly too much for me to handle.

Imagine, a whole life spent in and out of hospitals...due to a parent that took it upon herself to make him sick. Childhood illnesses are real and this is a slap in the face to parents who fight to keep their sick children alive. It is a slap in the face to the little ones who fight to stay alive. Garnett's pain was unnecessary. It was evil. May he rest in peace and may Lacey be forever burdened and haunted by what she did.

 

[Bravo]

:Welcome1: allthehope

 

[K_Z]

Very creepy, obsessive behavior here by Lacey Spears. I'd heard about baby JS she represented as her own child on FB. But now there is another little boy she did the same thing with. Very, very creepy, odd behavior, IMO. And the ear infection history-- just very suspicious. Goes waaaayyy beyond being a good friend and handy babysitter, IMO.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...essed-boy-ear-infections-munchausen/11034655/

 

[LinasK]

Very creepy, obsessive behavior here by Lacey Spears. I'd heard about baby JS she represented as her own child on FB. But now there is another little boy she did the same thing with. Very, very creepy, odd behavior, IMO. And the ear infection history-- just very suspicious. Goes waaaayyy beyond being a good friend and handy babysitter, IMO.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...essed-boy-ear-infections-munchausen/11034655/

Other than bottle-feeding the children while they were lying down, is there anything else Lacey could have done to cause the ear infections???

 

[joypath]

Other than bottle-feeding the children while they were lying down, is there anything else Lacey could have done to cause the ear infections???

BBM!

There are SO many ways she could have caused ear discomfort and ultimately, infections! And because this is an open forum,:truce: I'm NOT going to be specific beyond a statement that foreign items, be they solid or fluid, should not be introduced into the ear canal. Even products meant for positive treatment outcomes can be contaminated by common, everyday bacteria and thus become a dangerous concoction in the hands of "an evil one".

:twocents::twocents::twocents: Given her skill set(s), "nursing school experience", computer adaptability and what appears to be a presumed "higher" cognitive ability, I'd rest assured that she probably/possibly "assisted" in the other children's discomfort! TOTALLY MY OPINION!

 

[angelainwi]

With MBP, other than poisoning their children, do they parent as a normal person would? I guess I ask because from the pictures, it would appear there were moments of affection. This condition is so strange.

 

[katydid23]

I vote for MURDER ONE. Wish I was on the jury. :jail: