Lacey Spears, the mother who blogged about her son’s illness and his subsequent death, has been found guilty of second-degree murder of the little boy.
The court found that Spears, 27, killed her five-year-old son, Garnett-Paul Spears, in January 2014, by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through a tube.
Prosecutors argued Spears, a single mother, force-fed the boy salt through his stomach tube to get attention, reports.
Spears’ legal team argued in court there was no ‘direct evidence’ of a crime, although footage showed Spears taking the boy into a hospital bathroom with a connector tube and her son suffering afterward, twice.
Assistant District Attorney Patricia Murphy described Spears’ actions as “torture”, saying in court: “‘The motive is bizarre, the motive is scary, but it exists… She apparently craved the attention of her family, her friends, her co-workers and most particularly the medical profession.”
She argued Spears eventually killed Garnett-Paul because she feared he would start telling people she was making him ill.
Related content: Lacey Spears.
Previously, Mamamia wrote:
Spears’ blog, “Garnett the Great,” was started by Lacey just after Garnett was born.
There is no clear evidence as to why Garnett had a feeding tube, but what is known is that Lacey Spears wrote about it extensively.
Her online following on Facebook, My Space and on her own personal blog followed her journey as a single mother supporting her sick child.
The Journal News reports that Lacey’s blog doted on Garnett to the point of obsession.
Spears told friends that Garnett had “failure to thrive” — a catch-all term for children who don’t eat enough and had a feeding tube inserted as a baby.
In the first year of his short life Garnett, was in the hospital 23 times, once for five weeks. All these incidences chronicled in detail on social media.
Her massive following supported her through each hospitalisation and each life upheaval.
From The Journal News:
“They followed on Facebook as Lacey moved in 2010 from her hometown Decatur, Ala., to Clearwater, Fla., where she and “G” — as he was known — lived with Lacey’s grandmother for a brief, idyllic time. In 2012, she moved Garnett north, to Chestnut Ridge’s secluded Fellowship Community, saying she hoped the close-to-the-earth living would be the answer to the boy’s chronic health issues. She wrote a blog, “Garnett’s Journey,” subtitled “Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.On it, she chronicled hospital stays and the loss of her soulmate, Garnett’s daddy, Blake.”
But it took a turn for the worst when on January 19, five-year-old Garnett was airlifted to hospital.
Lacey’s Facebook page showed heartbreaking images of her little man on life support.
She wrote that it appeared to be a stomach virus, but that he battled it bravely.
Tragically, he died on January 23rd, 2014.
It seemed that suspicion had already begun before his death, with doctors were surprised by the unusually high level of sodium in the five-year-old’s system.
As her online community grieved with her, police prepared a case to arrest Lacey on suspected salt poisoning of her son.
The investigation had begun before Garnett died; with The Journal News reporting there had been concerns back in 2009 with a child abuse hotline receiving an anonymous tip off.
Investigators are now questioning whether Garnett was deliberately given the salt.
The USA Today reports that as Garnett was dying Lacey rang a neighbour and asked her to go to her home and dispose of one of the boy’s feeding bags – which allegedly contained a large amount of sodium.
Police have not released why Garnett had a feeding tube but have pointed to his history of illness and repeated hospital visits.
The neighbour, who asked not to be named, said that they did initially remove the bag – but then phoned the police and turned it over when they heard about the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death.
According to Fox News it is unclear whether Garnett ever needed a feeding tube in the first place with reports that he could eat solid foods without a problem.
As news of the impending charges make headlines speculation is that Lacey Spears may have been suffering from Munchausen by proxy.
According to the Medical Journal of Australia, “The label ‘Munchausen by proxy syndrome’ is best applied to cases of child abuse in which a caregiver, usually the child’s mother, fabricates symptoms or induces illness in a dependent child, and the doctor mistakenly believes that a naturally occurring illness is present. Thus, an active interaction between the caregiver-perpetrator and medical professional is required for the syndrome to occur.”
Her once public Facebook pages are now closed down.
Her blog entries unfinished.
But Lacey Spears denies doing any wrong by her son.
Her lawyer told FoxNews, “Lacey is completely devastated by the loss of her son and absolutely denies harming her son in any way.”
Top Comments
I had a niece who was the victim of someone who suffered Munchausen's by proxy... These people are desperately, desperately mentally ill. Not evil. They are no more "guilty" of murder than someone who has schizophrenia is guilty of murder when the voices in their head tell them to kill someone. We lost my niece at the age of 5 months - initially suspected to be SIDS but later shown to be the result of her mother smothering her. Her mother had previously been involved in an incident when a baby she was babysitting stopped breathing: she gave CPR and the baby lived. It is still unclear whether this was the result of her smothering the baby, or whether it was a natural occurrence and it was all the adulation and public attention she got at that time for saving the baby that triggered the condition. Anyway - it is almost impossible to forgive, but understanding does make it easier (a little easier) to deal with.
Explaining a person's actions doesn't excuse them...
It's quite inaccurate to compare this to a schizophrenic with "voices in their head" (fyi - even auditory hallucinations aren't enough to avoid criminal culpability. You might be surprised that a lot of schizophrenics experience hallucinations and they're still ethical and functional. To be innocent of murder, the person has to be so ill that they can't distinguish Right from Wrong, or fantasy from reality. It's a very rare, limited set of circumstances).
Schizophrenia has NOTHING in common with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy--which is described as 'a complex form of emotional abuse'. Having sympathy for the tragic background of a person with this condition doesn't really mitigate their Guilt, either. They would have to be proven to have *completely broken from reality* (eg: a Bi-Polar patient suffering manic psychosis, or a schizophrenic in a paranoid delusional episode).
Jails are overflowing with Personality Disorders, but they were all deemed responsible for their choices. Having a strong compulsion to abuse people isn't a Disability; and being chronically unable to resist antisocial or manipulative behaviour isn't a valid Insanity Plea (thank goodness!). Disorders such a Munchausens are treatable, and the patient knows they're deceiving people. Yes, or course they're extremely mentally ill. But a rubber stamp of 'mental illness' doesn't mean the person isn't aware that their actions were destructive/illegal.
(Like allegations that Spears called her neighbour to hide the evidence... that rather undermines the theory she didn't know what she was doing).
Just to clarify: Schizophrenics aren't usually dangerous; nor is their condition the same as being Addicted To Attention-Seeking. I can understand how the devastating death of an infant might be "easier to deal with" by comparing Munchausens to schizophrenia. But that's simply not the case.
If you smother a baby because your delusion makes you genuinely believe they are a Demon, or trying to kill you, or that you're saving them from danger?... That is a possible psychotic episode.
But smothering a baby whom you know is an innocent person who can't hurt you.... because you're addicted to the attention? Yes, I'm sorry, the law sees that as Guilty Of Murder :,-(
Garnett had high salt levels as a baby. Back then, Munchausen syndrome was suspected. I obtained the child fatality report:
http://www.lohud.com/story/...