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

[K_Z]

Wow, what a tragic case, poor little boy, to think of what he must have gone through! So sad.

It seems every time someone started looking into mum,she moved on! Crazy.

If Lacey does have Mbp, can she still stand trail? Is it like deminished responsibility? So sad x

BBM. Yes, definitely Lacey can stand trial, whether or not she has MBPS. Plenty of women have been sent to prison for crimes committed as a result of their personality disorders. This is considered an Axis II personality disorder. Someone with this disorder does not have legally diminished capacity. Defendants diagnosed mentally incompetent to stand trial usually have Axis I disorders, such as schizophrenia, which are diminished capacity defenses.

Regardless, the defense has not sent any signals that they are pursuing mental incompetence. The defense pursuing a diagnosis of MBPS only makes Lacey look more guilty, not less responsible, so I doubt they will go there. Lacey has pleaded not guilty. IMO, there is no way she would ever meet the criteria for an insanity defense, so that's not an option. She knew what she was doing, and took active measures to cover up the crime.

There are many other women in prison for MBPS activities, better labelled as medical child abuse. There is a members only thread for the current prosecution of Kate Parker in Oregon (facing 43 charges)-- look in the Parking Lot members thread. Also google or search for articles on Hannah Overton (another intentional salt poisoning case), and Laurie Williamson, both recently prosecuted (successfully-- they are in prison for decades).

Here's a good summary of Laurie Williamson's case:
http://www.tdcaa.com/node/2871

 

[lillybell]

Thanks for that K Z, I will have a look at the other threads x

 

[K_Z]

At this link, pictures of Lacey's sister, Rebecca Spears, who was in court to support her (according to attorney comments), as well as visited her earlier in the week. She appears to be much older than Lacey, IMO-- just an observation.

Video of the comments from attorneys for Lacey Spears at a press conference July 17, outside the courthouse. Very, very scripted and tight lipped, IMO. A reporter who asked about Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome is deftly deflected with no comments by attorneys.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...lacey-spears-murder-case-back-court/12720399/

 

[K_Z]

Ah, this gives more info-- the reason she was a no-show in court is that she is on suicide watch.

Lacey Spears, 26, did not appear Wednesday in the White Plains courtroom for her murder trial because she was on suicide watch in the forensic unit of a nearby jail.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...de-watch-jail-article-1.1870359#ixzz38XvwUyID

So, Lacey is definitely not having much fun while in jail. Suicide watch is miserable. I've also heard these smocks referred to as "taco suits".

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/06/safety_smocks_standard_wear_fo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-suicide_smock

 

[K_Z]

David Sachs (a former prosecutor), who is Lacey Spears' attorney, has filed a laundry list of evidence that he wants prosecutors barred from introducing. Lacey is due in court again Oct 15.

This article is chock full of new details, for anyone following this case. Includes a 32 page court document filed Sept 3, 2014, as well.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/loc...-lawyer-moves-suppress-key-evidence/15157453/

Lacey Spears, the mother accused of fatally poisoning her 5-year-old son with salt, posted more than 43,000 pages of photographs and updates on Facebook that police say she used to "memorialize" her alleged crimes against the boy.

But if her defense lawyer has his way, prosecutors will be barred from introducing much of it and won't be able to mention Munchausen by proxy, a psychiatric disorder where a parent sickens a child for sympathy and attention.

Sachs is seeking to suppress much of the prosecution's most damning evidence, including a feeding tube bag seized at Spears' home that tested positive for high sodium levels.

 

[K_Z]

Published Sept 19, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...spears-salt-levels-spiked-as-a-baby/15871875/

The Journal News obtained a copy of Garnett Spears' child fatality report that reveals that Alabama medical records show that five years ago there was concern for Lacey Spears' "emotional stability and it was presumed she suffered from Postpartum Depression and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy" — a form of medical child abuse where a parent sickens a child for sympathy or attention.

When Garnett was just 5 weeks old, Spears "verbalized that she wanted to harm" him, the report says, and was referred about a month later to "Medical Social Services for interpersonal conflict, stress and dysfunction."

A lawyer for Lacey Spears, Stephen Reibling, declined to comment on the report Thursday. Lawyers have moved to suppress Garnett's past medical records from the case and keep out any mention of Munchausen syndrome.

 

[K_Z]

http://nypost.com/2014/09/18/salt-mom-accused-of-poisoning-son-even-in-hospital/

The report, obtained by The Journal News through FOIA requests, found that Garnett Spears’s sodium level spiked to a life-threatening 188 milliequivalents per liter on Jan. 22 and that “it was medically impossible for the levels to do so without the subject child ingesting an unknown substance.”

(KZ note-- a normal range for the electrolyte sodium is 135-145 meq/l.)

Here is a link to the 8 page New York State Office of Children and Family Services Child Fatality Report obtained via FOIA request:

http://data.lohud.com/documents/spears-child-fatality-report.html

 

[Lovejac]

Published Sept 19, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...spears-salt-levels-spiked-as-a-baby/15871875/

:facepalm: 5 years ago :sigh:

 

[Lovejac]

http://nypost.com/2014/09/18/salt-mom-accused-of-poisoning-son-even-in-hospital/



(KZ note-- a normal range for the electrolyte sodium is 135-145 meq/l.)

Here is a link to the 8 page New York State Office of Children and Family Services Child Fatality Report obtained via FOIA request:

http://data.lohud.com/documents/spears-child-fatality-report.html

Father alive and well in Alabama

 

[K_Z]

Father alive and well in Alabama

He's a garage door installer. Lived in the same apartment complex with Lacey, and they had an on again, off again "friends with benefits" relationship, according to an interview a while back with the bio dad. Posted somewhere earlier in this thread.

AFAIK, he had no contact with Garnett, and never was formally named bio dad, and never paid child support.

 

[Lovejac]

He's a garage door installer. Lived in the same apartment complex with Lacey, and they had an on again, off again "friends with benefits" relationship, according to an interview a while back with the bio dad. Posted somewhere earlier in this thread.

I totally missed that. I'd heard that she claimed he died in a car accident. Or did I get that mixed up with Casey Anthony's lie about Caylee's father? :waitasec:

 

[K_Z]

I'm fine with them never mentioning "Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome" in court, as long as they are allowed to call it exactly what it was for Garnett: Medical Child Abuse. That is the preferred health industry term. That diagnosis is a child centered diagnosis, while MBPS is a parent centered diagnosis.

 

[K_Z]

I totally missed that. I'd heard that she claimed he died in a car accident. Or did I get that mixed up with Casey Anthony's lie about Caylee's father? :waitasec:

You're right. Lacey claimed he was a police officer who died in a car accident. She wrote voluminously online about how hard her grief was for the lost love of her life.

Here's a link about the "two dads":

http://www.freep.com/article/201403...tt-unexplained-death-two-fathers-lacey-spears

 

[meanmaryjean]

Na 188?

Wow- the highest survived I've seen is 163. That poor child- how he must have suffered.....

 

[seattlechiquita]

I'm fine with them never mentioning "Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome" in court, as long as they are allowed to call it exactly what it was for Garnett: Medical Child Abuse. That is the preferred health industry term. That diagnosis is a child centered diagnosis, while MBPS is a parent centered diagnosis.

Correct. I really, really hope the judge lets the warrants and hence the evidence stand. This witch put that precious child through continued, calculated torture.

 

[tlcya]

According to the fatality report, investigators obtained medical records from a Tennessee hospital showing Garnett suffered from "bleeding through his eyes and ears with no known medical explanation." The report does not give the date of the incident.
The same gruesome symptoms appear in a note kept by Alabama child welfare investigators that show Garnett as an 8-month-old was bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth and ears during a medical flight from Decatur General Hospital to Birmingham Children's Hospital. The note suggests "something is not right." Again, no formal report was generated and no child welfare case opened on Spears and her son.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...spears-salt-levels-spiked-as-a-baby/15871875/

 

[gitana1]

A

BBM. Yes, definitely Lacey can stand trial, whether or not she has MBPS. Plenty of women have been sent to prison for crimes committed as a result of their personality disorders. This is considered an Axis II personality disorder. Someone with this disorder does not have legally diminished capacity. Defendants diagnosed mentally incompetent to stand trial usually have Axis I disorders, such as schizophrenia, which are diminished capacity defenses.

Regardless, the defense has not sent any signals that they are pursuing mental incompetence. The defense pursuing a diagnosis of MBPS only makes Lacey look more guilty, not less responsible, so I doubt they will go there. Lacey has pleaded not guilty. IMO, there is no way she would ever meet the criteria for an insanity defense, so that's not an option. She knew what she was doing, and took active measures to cover up the crime.

There are many other women in prison for MBPS activities, better labelled as medical child abuse. There is a members only thread for the current prosecution of Kate Parker in Oregon (facing 43 charges)-- look in the Parking Lot members thread. Also google or search for articles on Hannah Overton (another intentional salt poisoning case), and Laurie Williamson, both recently prosecuted (successfully-- they are in prison for decades).

Here's a good summary of Laurie Williamson's case:
http://www.tdcaa.com/node/2871

This is an excellent explanation of the difference between a personality disorder and the types of mental illnesses that result in diminished capacity/legitimate insanity defenses. You really nailed and explained it in a way anyone can understand.

 

[K_Z]

Lacey Spears to appear in court Wednesday

Lacey Spears will appear Wednesday in Westchester County Court, where a judge is to decide whether the case against her will proceed.

David Sachs, a lawyer for the woman accused of fatally poisoning her son, has asked Judge Robert Neary to dismiss an indictment charging her with second-degree murder and manslaughter, saying in court documents filed Friday, that prosecutors can't prove Spears acted with recklessness and "utter disregard for the value of human life."

In building their case, investigators subpoenaed dozens of doctors and hospitals in Florida, Alabama and New York, states where Spears and her son lived. The 5 year old reportedly made 200 or so doctor or hospital visits over his lifetime.

Seeking to suppress those records, Sachs argued they aren't relevant because they don't pertain to the four days preceding Garnett's death, which authorities believe occurred after Spears's actions with the feeding tube caused his sodium levels to spike from a normal of 144 to a life-threatening 182.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2014/10/11/lacey-spears-appear-court/17134519/

Nope, no, uh uh. Do not think this judge will dismiss THESE charges, with THIS level of evidence. No. This is going to trial, IMO.

 

[K_Z]

Mom Accused in Salt Poisoning of 5-Year-Old Says Child May Be Responsible for His Death

She told authorities "the victim would once in a while play with his feeding tube and could have put something into it," according to a 43-page motion filed by the Westchester County prosecutor's office and obtained by PEOPLE

.

http://www.people.com/article/lacey-spears-blames-son-for-his-death

 

[SwampMama]

.

http://www.people.com/article/lacey-spears-blames-son-for-his-death

From the above linked article:

Spears said "she used very little salt in the preparation of the victim's food and only used Himalayan salt,"

She said she "used a pinch of salt for flavor when feeding the victim blended fruits and vegetables through his GI feeding tube."

She said that this was a mixture she learned of from a friend in Florida.

Umm, correct me if I am wrong but there are no taste buds involved when feeding with a GI tube. Thus there is no reason to add a "pinch of salt"

What a vile creature, to torture that child that way thru years of making him ill and then blaming HIM for his death. I would not be sad to see her get the death penalty and to get a GI tube full of salt. Yeah I know, it ain't gonna happen but she is so deserving.