A US blogger has been found guilty of the second-degree murder of her son, after poisoning him in order to gain sympathy from her readers and medical professionals.
Lacey Spears posted on social media sites including MySpace and Facebook for several years about her son Garnett’s health issues, outlining his frequent hospital visits and telling followers that his father Blake has been a police officer who died in a car accident.
However, it emerged that the 27-year-old was poisoning Garnett by force-feeding him sodium through his stomach tube and videos showed Spears twice taking the five-year-old into a hospital bathroom with a connector tube, with his condition worsening afterwards.
Evidence submitted in the trial included two feeding bags found in Spears’ apartment that contains strong amounts with salt, with one having the equivalent of 69 McDonald’s salt packets in it.
It was also found that the Kentucky woman has done extensive research online into the dangers of sodium in children.
After a man called Chris Hill identified himself as the child’s father, it was discovered that ‘Blake’ never existed. Hill said that the pair had enjoyed a brief affair but after telling him she was pregnant with his child, Spears changed her story, left town and cut contact with him.
Medical professionals testified that there was no medical explanation for Garnett’s condition and Spears’ actions were “nothing short of torture”.
“The motive is bizarre, the motive is scary, but it exists,” said Assistant District Attorney Patricia Murphy.
“She apparently craved the attention of her family, her friends, her co-workers and most particularly, the medical profession.”
Defense lawyer Stephen Riebling said there was no “direct evidence” of a crime and witnesses said that Spears had seemed devastated by her son’s death.
It’s understood she will appeal the conviction.
