We hear a lot about the mental health system when it comes to “Gun Death”, but not so much about this:
Less than a week before his death, 5-year-old Garnett-Paul Spears’s sodium hit a lethal level without any medical explanation.
A couple of days later, hospital staff found him on his back. Unresponsive. Barely breathing. Pupils blown. And his skin was light gray in color.
An EEG indicated brain death. He was declared dead on Jan. 23.
Garnett’s medical records speak to years of sickness in his short life — severe ear infections, high fevers, seizures, digestive problems.
Now, authorities believe there may be an explanation.
They believe it may have been his mother who was ill, possibly suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychiatric illness in which a parent makes her child sick to get attention or sympathy.
Prosecutors told local media they believe 26-year-old **REDACTED** fed her son dangerous amounts of salt after she conducted research on the Internet about its effects. She has been charged in Westchester County, N.Y., with second-degree depraved murder and first-degree manslaughter, according to her indictment. On Tuesday, she turned herself in to police.
There is a lot of talk of “Gun Death”, but when it comes to sick mothers killing their young children, they rarely use guns. They use knives, or drown them, or poison them.
Hey, but only “gun Death” counts, right?
