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

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"If you're a girl raised in a family in which you don't get the nurturance that every person needs to form a healthy personality, you start to take in things from the outside that will give you a ready-made personality," Sirkin said. "Being a mom is a ready-made role that our society provides women. I would speculate that this young woman was so empty that here was this ready-made social role that she could jump into. And who doesn't love a caretaking mom?"

"Even at a very early age, she could get praise – which I'm guessing she desperately sought – for being a good mother, role model, and caretaker," Sirkin said. "And the Internet gave it this extra oomph, a lot of juice. Suddenly, she's not just a good mom in a small family group, she's an international good mom, a viral good mom. Suddenly, everyone's giving her these kudos."

Growing up, Spears had an American Girl doll, loved Lifetime movies and the syrupy comfort of her favorite show, the drama "Seventh Heaven," about a minister, his stay-at-home wife and their seven children, where problems were presented and resolved in 60 minutes.
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http://www.lohud.com/longform/news/...acey-spears-past-disturbing-stories/10659539/
 
When Spears claimed to have gone three days without eating, Sandlin said someone had seen her eat a hot dog the day before, prompting Spears to change her story to say that was the only thing she'd eaten.
In the summer of 2002, when she was 14, Spears told friends she was pregnant.
"I said, 'Do your parents know? What're you going to do?'" recalled Sandlin. "I didn't believe her; she didn't look pregnant. But I didn't want to call her a liar, in case there was some bit of truth to it."
Later, Spears told Sandlin and others in the group that she'd gone to Birmingham's Carraway Methodist Medical Center to get an abortion. But when a friend challenged the story and said abortions weren't done at that hospital, which closed in 2008, "She replied, 'Oh, I went to Florida,'" Sandlin said.
Sandlin said Spears followed a pattern of telling whopper after whopper: "If she didn't get a certain reaction, she would move to a bigger lie."
http://www.lohud.com/longform/news/...acey-spears-past-disturbing-stories/10659539/
 
On one of dozens of hospital visits, Dabbs-Anderson said, Lacey tried to convince medical staff that Garnett had thrown up by pointing to a wet spot on the hospital sheets that turned out to be water.
She kept telling medical staff that the boy wouldn't eat, and asked them to surgically implant a feeding tube that would allow her to feed him without him having to swallow, she said. When they declined &#8212; saying he ate well under their care and was able to keep food down &#8212; Lacey took Garnett to another hospital where doctors implanted the tube, she said.<snip>
Hunt recalls Lacey being upset once when the hospital held Garnett overnight and wouldn't let her stay over.
"They wanted to see if he had the same symptoms without Lacey," she recalled. She didn't learn the outcome, or any conclusions that were drawn from that overnight stay.

http://www.lohud.com/longform/news/...acey-spears-past-disturbing-stories/10659539/
 
At bathtime once in the Decatur apartment Lacey shared with her older sister, Dabbs-Anderson said she saw Lacey force her toddler son's head underwater.
"She held him down in the water because she was flustered with him, upset with him, because he was whining when she was washing his hair," Dabbs-Anderson recalled. "I mean, she was pouring water on his head.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/loc...arnett-great-part-red-flags-hospital/6855903/
 
K_Z said:
For those interested, there was a live chat on lohud (lower Hudson valley) tonight, about the arrest and arraignment of Lacey Spears.

It was about an hour, but an average reader can read it much faster than an hour. Here is a link:

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/investigations/2014/06/17/live-chat-lacey-spears-arrest/10691713/

Added: There was an anonymous participant who claims to be a friend that offered some interesting information.

Comment at 7:52 from the reporter says she is on suicide watch at Westchester jail.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...-spears-suicide-jail-salt-poisoning/10810421/
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Thank you so much, K_Z for posting all these informative links.

Hoosgirl said:
I'm with you ... clearly she researched and premeditated the salt poisoning. I wonder if they weren't sure that she meant to kill him, just make him sick? I wish she were facing a heavier charge, but I am so glad she has been arrested. Justice for Garnett, RIP.

Has anyone seen a copy of the indictment? I tried watching the full video of the arraignment on lohud but my phone kept messing up.

I again commend lohud for its excellent, in-depth reporting on this tragic case.

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk
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I think that's exactly why it's second degree - she likely meant to hurt him but not kill him. It doesn't appear that New York has a felony murder law that allows for a first degree charge when the death occurs during the commission of a crime, unless the criminal intends to kill someone: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-first-degree-murder-laws.html
 
This isn't the first case of abusive salt poisoning. (Search Hannah Overton for another-- she is in prison for a looong time.)

Some good clinical references about non-accidental salt poisoning:

http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2...lt-poisoning-and-hypernatraemic-dehydration-0

One of the world's experts on abusive salt poisoning, Britsh physician Roy Meadow:

Roy Meadow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of his seminal works (1992) on non-accidental salt poisoning: (was glad to find a free link for the full length article, not just the abstract.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1029261/

It doesn't take much salt to hurt a child. About 2 tsp in a 6 month old can cause seizures and brain swelling.
 
It looks like she had 3 lawyers at the hearing. Does anyone know if these are court appointed?
 
"I don't see her as a murderer," the woman said. "I think (it was) sickness and I think a lot of things happen to us in our lives that are tragic and make us seek this kind of grief or sympathy that she was looking for. We all do it in different ways. I think it was really wrong of course, and I think it was terrible and all I can do is pray for her." http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...pears-murder-charges-garnett-spears/10665173/

I'm sorry, "everyone does it"? I don't think so. I have never sought sympathy for a tragedy that didn't exist. What the heck is this crazy lady talking about?
 
And....NOW she has "achieved" celebrity status, exactly what she craved from her youth, assuming the research via journalists is accurate (or even HALF accurate!). There's a HUGE lesson in this life played out in public, be it electronic media or physical intra-personal experiences......BEWARE of the pathological liar or as many describe them as "the story-teller".

AGAIN, behavioral/mental health services need to be as available as all other healthcare services-----NOPE, not trying to get "political" just proactive! :truce: :truce:


PS:IMVHO :tantrum: her possible/probable "MSP" does NOT get her a "pass" from legal accountability, she treated and used her son, a viable human being, as an "accessory" in her life just like she'd use a purse or a hat!
 
I don't understand why hospitals don't require a 2-3 day stay in the hospital before placing a feeding tube. They can feed the child and study them to confirm that a feeding tube is really necessary. I can't believe that doctors would just rely on the words of the mothers. And, during the 3 day period, they should have a video in the room to monitor these so called 'mothers'.
 
peedoffinny said:
I don't understand why hospitals don't require a 2-3 day stay in the hospital before placing a feeding tube. They can feed the child and study them to confirm that a feeding tube is really necessary. I can't believe that doctors would just rely on the words of the mothers. And, during the 3 day period, they should have a video in the room to monitor these so called 'mothers'.
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Also they should be weighing the children to see if they're gaining or losing weight. A nutritionist should be involved, as should a ST or OT for feeding/swallowing issues, and to confirm it, there ought to be a Barium Swallow or Modified Barium Swallow x-ray. My daughter has had Acid Reflux since she was a baby, and surgery is NOT the standard protocol, acid blocker medications are-orally.:banghead::banghead::banghead:
Also, if they suspected her and there weren't surveillance cameras in the bathrooms, why did the hospital allow Lacey to stay overnight with her son??? I think the hospital failed Garnett, and so did DHS.
 
LinasK said:
Also they should be weighing the children to see if they're gaining or losing weight. A nutritionist should be involved, as should a ST or OT for feeding/swallowing issues, and to confirm it, there ought to be a Barium Swallow or Modified Barium Swallow x-ray. My daughter has had Acid Reflux since she was a baby, and surgery is NOT the standard protocol, acid blocker medications are-orally.:banghead::banghead::banghead:
Also, if they suspected her and there weren't surveillance cameras in the bathrooms, why did the hospital allow Lacey to stay overnight with her son??? I think the hospital failed Garnett, and so did DHS.
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and so did the members of the cult or community or whatever the fk they were living at. "The Fellowship" evidently didn't do squat for this little boy. I am so mad right now.
 
peedoffinny said:
I don't understand why hospitals don't require a 2-3 day stay in the hospital before placing a feeding tube. They can feed the child and study them to confirm that a feeding tube is really necessary. I can't believe that doctors would just rely on the words of the mothers. And, during the 3 day period, they should have a video in the room to monitor these so called 'mothers'.
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BBM: in a word...........................COST.................... as in who will pay for the hospital stay! :banghead::banghead::banghead:


Healthcare providers ARE relying on the words of the caregivers of the young, disabled & the elderly, vulnerable populations. That "reliance" is usually NOT a single reporting incident but rather a declared history of health "misadventures". It is amazing just how calculating & impressive some of the individuals reporting the patient history can be with terminology & "facts". :twocents::twocents: Today's multi-media world is permitting the public to witness some of the "swept-under the rug" life experiences others have tried to make/bring public! :tantrum:
 
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