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

[borndem]

Thank you so much for the snippets, I keep hitting a paywall when I go to the lohud site. This poor baby, he may have been able to vomit up the salt if he hadn't had that procedure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

bbm

Indeed, that's right. Who of us have been to the ocean, especially as children, and swallowed the salty seawater -- only to lose it pretty quickly when we have vomited it right back up? The body does not like saltwater in your stomach, and it will do what it can to get rid of it. I don't know whether this would have helped him at all -- it certainly would have added to his discomfort in a big way, IMO -- but if he had done it in the hospital, then medical personnel may have been able to determine that he was somehow ingesting copious amounts of salt. SMH. This sweet angel didn't have a chance as long as he was with his mother. And he is well away from her now for all eternity. She will never, ever see him again -- he flew away.

 

[K_Z]

So if I understand you right- her Defense Team is trying to blame to death on the hospital???

It sounds like that to me. I predicted that before trial, that the defense would somehow blame this on the hospital staff.

Implying things like:

1. "Garnett would be alive today *if only* the hospital had done/ not done XYZ."

2. "It's not Lacey's fault the hospital staff couldn't save him."

3. "The hospital was in charge and in control of Garnett 24/7, and they failed to find out why this happened to Garnett."

The only way they can defend Lacey is to make all this someone else's fault, and try to distance her from any responsibility. Any tiny flaw in the chart will be exploited to cast doubt. It's like they're switching from a murder trial to a medical malpractice lawsuit. Lacey has pleaded not guilty, so it has to be the hospital staff's fault. And they have TWO hospitals they can use to cast doubt.

So yeah-- in the defense case in chief, I expect a full on attack against every professional that cared for Garnett at both hospitals, how incompetent they were, how slow they were to respond, how they missed so many things, failed to diagnose what was going on, made mistakes in the chart, etc.

 

[K_Z]

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/19/lacey-spears-trial-day-ten/23672353/

Article updated this eve at 7:55 with more details.

 

[LinasK]

It sounds like that to me. I predicted that before trial, that the defense would somehow blame this on the hospital staff.

Implying things like:

1. "Garnett would be alive today *if only* the hospital had done/ not done XYZ."

2. "It's not Lacey's fault the hospital staff couldn't save him."

3. "The hospital was in charge and in control of Garnett 24/7, and they failed to find out why this happened to Garnett."

The only way they can defend Lacey is to make all this someone else's fault, and try to distance her from any responsibility. Any tiny flaw in the chart will be exploited to cast doubt. It's like they're switching from a murder trial to a medical malpractice lawsuit. Lacey has pleaded not guilty, so it has to be the hospital staff's fault. And they have TWO hospitals they can use to cast doubt.

So yeah-- in the defense case in chief, I expect a full on attack against every professional that cared for Garnett at both hospitals, how incompetent they were, how slow they were to respond, how they missed so many things, failed to diagnose what was going on, made mistakes in the chart, etc.

Oh man, I hope they have an airtight case. This might not be the slam dunk I thought it was...

 

[K_Z]

Nice summary of court today. Valerie Plauche, the neighbor Lacey called to get rid of the feeding tube bag in the living room, testified, as well as an ICU doc. We learn that police had been to Lacey's apartment and took photographs BEFORE the neighbor was called to get rid of the feeding tube bag. That seems quite significant, and hopefully the pics show the feeding tube set up as it was.

I'm sure the defense will pick apart the feeding tube bag story, because there was no "chain of custody", and will suggest that someone else could have tampered with the bad and added salt.

The bag, which was attached to a stand and tubes, had a"formula" colored liquid in it, she said.

"We put it in a big black garbage bag we had brought with us and we left," she testified.

Plauche, who was friendly with Spears and close with Garnett, put the bag in a closet in her apartment at the Fellowship community, she testified.

She later turned it over to the head nurse at the community for safekeeping.

Earlier Friday, a doctor testified Lacey Spears did not want a breathing tube removed from Garnett on the afternoon of Jan. 20, after his condition was improving at Westchester Medical Center because she "didn't want him to be uncomfortable,"

Dr. Alan Pinto, the hospital's associate director of the pediatric critical care unit, decided to remove it anyway because there's always the risk of infection, he said.

"He was doing fine," he said of Garnett. "He was waking up...He was nodding his head to questions...He was breathing on his own."

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/20/lacey-spears-trial-day-eleven/23731241/

 

[LinasK]

Nice summary of court today. Valerie Plauche, the neighbor Lacey called to get rid of the feeding tube bag in the living room, testified, as well as an ICU doc. We learn that police had been to Lacey's apartment and took photographs BEFORE the neighbor was called to get rid of the feeding tube bag. That seems quite significant, and hopefully the pics show the feeding tube set up as it was.

I'm sure the defense will pick apart the feeding tube bag story, because there was no "chain of custody", and will suggest that someone else could have tampered with the bad and added salt.






http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/20/lacey-spears-trial-day-eleven/23731241/

That's just odd that she wouldn't want the breathing tube removed. I'd think he'd be alot more uncomfortable with it in place than removed...

 

[blefuscu]

I've read about Hannah Overton who was mentioned earlier in the thread. She's been released and will be retried. Experts have agreed that crucial evidence was left out of her case.

 

[K_Z]

I've read about Hannah Overton who was mentioned earlier in the thread. She's been released and will be retried. Experts have agreed that crucial evidence was left out of her case.

It's my opinion that HO will be re-convicted of some level of manslaughter or murder. I think that competent expert witness/s will be able to describe why high levels of salt were not found in the gastric contents of Andrew Burd.

HO was convicted not on the salt poisoning of Andrew Burd, but on the "failure to seek emergency care" aspect. (Greatly simplifying there.)

I personally believe there was a lot of "religious child abuse" going on with Andrew Burd in that home. Time and a new trial will tell more of the story.

But religious child abuse is not even close to the same situation psychologically as medical child abuse that occurs from the mother's deranged psychology, as in Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome (which can't be raised at Lacey Spears' trial.)

It's my personal opinion that Andrew Burd's abuse was clearly religiously motivated, versus Garnett's, which I believe was a result of his mother's attention-seeking personality disorder. Both mothers, IMO, knew that they were inflicting serious abuse on their children, and knew that the abuse was harmful to the child.

 

[peedoffinny]

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/17/lacey-spears-murder-trial-continues/23550505/

My BBM-- smiling?? Sadistic.

(KZ note on second BBM- the doc may be referring to a nissen fudoplication surgery, in her comments about Garnett being unable to vomit. This procedure is done for serious cases of stomach reflux, where the stomach is sort of snugged up and wrapped around the lower esophageal junction.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissen_fundoplication

I just want to thank everyone for keeping up with this very sad case, I haven't been following and just caught up today. I was wondering if her smiling was a way of showing how proud she was that she diagnosed the problem - that yep, see I told you he had high sodium levels. Do these MBP monsters get pleasure from being recognized for their knowledge of the medical terms and conditions?

PS. KZ - I love your posts, you make it the medical stuff so much easier to understand.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

I just want to thank everyone for keeping up with this very sad case, I haven't been following and just caught up today. I was wondering if her smiling was a way of showing how proud she was that she diagnosed the problem - that yep, see I told you he had high sodium levels. Do these MBP monsters get pleasure from being recognized for their knowledge of the medical terms and conditions?

PS. KZ - I love your posts, you make it the medical stuff so much easier to understand.

I think she was smiling as if to say.. See.. I know more than you. But I think that all that makes her is evil.

 

[K_Z]

More heartbreaking details from testimony in court Friday (updated to original article):

Garnett Spears' preschool teacher, Carol Grieder, said the 5-year-old's symptoms "didn't make sense" when she stopped by his home just hours before he was admitted to Nyack Hospital on Jan. 17, 2014.

Until a few weeks earlier, when Lacey Spears emailed her saying Garnett had been in a pediatric intensive care unit in Florida with a fever of 105 degrees and that a port in his chest had to be accessed to give him fluids, Grieder, a registered nurse, never had concerns for his health.

"He was lying there holding his head," said Grieder, who expected the typically chatty Garnett to at least engage in conversation. "His head was arched back and he was sucking on a pacifier. He seemed like a child that had a severe headache. He was kind of whimpering."

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/20/lacey-spears-trial-day-eleven/23731241/

Break my heart. Sucking on a pacifier for comfort.....that poor child.

 

[K_Z]

I just want to thank everyone for keeping up with this very sad case, I haven't been following and just caught up today. I was wondering if her smiling was a way of showing how proud she was that she diagnosed the problem - that yep, see I told you he had high sodium levels. Do these MBP monsters get pleasure from being recognized for their knowledge of the medical terms and conditions?

PS. KZ - I love your posts, you make it the medical stuff so much easier to understand.

BBM. Yes. Attention seeking is thought to be at the core of the personality disorder that drives people to purposely sicken their children. Attention for being such a devoted mother, attention for being so knowledgable about the child's condition and treatments, sympathy for being the parent of a sick child, attention for denying their own adult needs to constantly attend to the sick child, attention (and internal satisfaction) for having a child that is "too sick" for doctors to "fix", etc.

These women "need" attention-- it's a psychological drug to them. They self medicate with ATTENTION.

The child is just the vector by which they get attention. They are really unable to empathize with their child. They constantly need to "one up" everyone else involved with the child's care, or who they talk to about the child, including medical professionals. This is how they "win" at their game, and this is why the child can't ever improve. Improvement = failure to impress, and the need to start the "sick" cycle again. The child is always at risk when they improve, because the MBPS perpetrator keeps pushing the limits to make them even sicker next time.

"See? MY child is TOO SICK for YOU to fix. I told you so. I win." They get a psychological rush from that, IMO.

 

[kimi_SFC]

More heartbreaking details from testimony in court Friday (updated to original article):



http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/20/lacey-spears-trial-day-eleven/23731241/

Break my heart. Sucking on a pacifier for comfort.....that poor child.

:tears:

The above link has updated the articles and "Multimedia" that can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom of the page. Here new list:

Earlier stories:
Day 10octor's testimony brings mom to tears
Day 9: Doctor: Spears OK with biopsy, not feeding eval
Day 8: Friend, detective, doctor testify for prosecution
Day 7: Doctor cites salt levels; nurse describes boy's worsening condition
Day 6: Doctor says boy had no seizures
Day 5: Defense cites video edits
Day 4: Prosecution video shows boy retching, in pain
Day 3: Defense portrays Spears as caring mom
Day 2: Defense: Garnett may have had diabetes
Day 1 (opening statements): Lacey Spears a 'calculating child killer,' prosecutor says
Earlier coverage:
Lacey Spears' phone had suicide search terms: records
Jury selection concludes
Sympathy-seeking syndrome not part of trial
Losing Garnett the Great, five-part series
Multimedia:
Watch prosecution's opening statements, part 1
Watch prosecution's opening statements, part 2
Watch prosecution's opening statements, part 3
Watch defense's opening statements, part 1
Watch defense's opening statements, part 2
Watch Lacey Spears breaking down in court
Hear reporter Peter D. Kramer read our five-part series, Losing Garnett the Great

#JusticeForGarnett

:rose:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[borndem]

WOW, kimi_SFC, Thanks! Great work! You continue to be a wonder and an inspiration.:happydance::blushing:

• :loveyou:
  
  

 

[borndem]

Thanks everyone for the updates. Been crazy at work and haven't had much time to clean my house (not that I miss doing THAT, but I miss y'all).

We miss you, too, Mz. Bean! :hug: It's just not the same when you're not here. .:bored:
:tantrum: . :tears: . :anguish: . :whine: . :grouphug: . :sheesh: . :frown: . :coffeecup:

 

[borndem]

Grrrrrr. Re-reading testimony --

Spears asked to "check the labs," Bompensiero said.

"She said last time this happened his sodium level was high," she said. When Spears was told she was correct, she replied, "Yeah, I know. I know my Garnett," Bompensiero testified.

from - http://www.lohud.com/story/news/cri...ears-trial-rockland-nurse-testifies/23354687/

Oh, I don't know how the staff refrained from jumping on her and choking her to death -- "I know my Garnett." LS said. So proud that she asked to "check the labs" and then pointed out that his salt level was high when this happened before and continuing to pat herself on the back with that other remark about "my Garnett." Her Garnett; her tender little human vehicle for showing how she knew just as much or more than they did about him and his condition. So smug. How could she? This is the worst. I'm so glad he is out of her reach for the rest of all time. Prison is too good for her.

Mini-rant over. Grrrrr.

 

[K_Z]

Lee Higgins ‏@LeeHiggins · 57m57 minutes ago
At #LaceySpears trial. Prosecution could wrap up as soon as Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaceySpears?src=hash

 

[K_Z]

[video=youtube;tZSwN8Y_2K4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZSwN8Y_2K4[/video]

 

[TupeloMz]

Lee Higgins ‏@LeeHiggins · 57m57 minutes ago
At #LaceySpears trial. Prosecution could wrap up as soon as Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaceySpears?src=hash

Link has been updated today.

 

[K_Z]

A feeding bag Lacey Spears asked a friend to remove from her Chestnut Ridge apartment after her 5-year-old son Garnett was found to be brain dead last January had 5.5 teaspoons or 22 servings of sodium in it, a forensic toxicologist testified Monday.

That's the same amount of sodium as in 69 McDonald's salt packets, eight salt bagels or 20 hot dogs, said toxicologist Christopher Cording, who tested the contents of the bag.

Holy cow. And that is what was LEFT in the bag to TEST-- no telling how much was INFUSED into his g-tube before she disconnected it.

When Garnett was airlifted Feb. 11, 2009, to Children's Hospital of Alabama with extremely high sodium levels in his bloodstream, the roughly 2 1/2 month old was "so extremely dehydrated, he was in shock," said Dr. Robert Pass, who treated Garnett four days later.

A blood sample taken when the boy was admitted revealed a sodium level of 165, Pass testified, which is significantly above the normal range of 135 to 145.

Garnett, he said, was "treated with IV fluids" in an effort to gradually bring his sodium down so it wouldn't damage brain cells. By Feb. 15, 2009, after that effort was successful, Garnett was transferred out of the pediatric intensive care unit, said Pass.

An MRI, EEG, CT scan, chest X-Ray and swallowing study were all normal as doctors tried to find a medical explanation for the boy's high sodium level, Pass testified, but no explanation was found.

"We never did understand why he had the elevated serum sodium," Pass testified during the 12th day of Spears' trial.

Argghh!! This baby was 10 weeks old!! 10 weeks!

I am SOOO glad the prosecutors tracked down the treating physicians from the episode when Garnett was only 10 weeks old. That took some dedication and legwork, to get the out of state records and track down the docs. Dedicated professionals, that team of 3 women! That may make all the difference for the jury to easily convict her.

And Valerie Plauche, the neighbor who got the feeding bag from the living room-- I hope that lady knows that she also may have made the difference between Lacey walking free and being convicted. But for her conscience and honesty, that bag of salt and tube feed formula may have never been found. Garnett may yet see some justice for all of the misery and abuse his mother delivered to him, IMO.

The article says the prosecution will rest tomorrow. I'd suspect the defense has a few days to a week's worth of testimony to put on their case.

Prosecutors on Tuesday are expected to call County Deputy Medical Examiner Alexander Milovanovic and another medical expert to testify.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/23/lacey-spears-trial-day-twelve/23879741/

Oh, I am so, so mad about that tube feed bag full of salt, and poor little baby Garnett-- who didn't have a feeding tube at 10 weeks of age. :banghead:

How long did it take Lacey to get him to drink dissolved salt that time? My opinion. The jury will soon render theirs.