Story here:
A former pediatric nurse has been charged with trying to poison her toddler son by injecting human feces into his bloodstream.
Stephanie McMullen, 29, was charged Thursday with assault and reckless endangerment counts and released on bail.
Doctors at the hospital where McMullen worked alerted police that her 22-month-old son had been hospitalized six times since he was four months old for "serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses," acting police chief Lt. Col. Scott McLaren said.
During one examination, doctors found E. coli, a bacteria found in feces, in the boy's bloodstream, and said the only way it could have entered the bloodstream was "through injection, not consumption."
"This could have eventually led to the death of the child," McLaren said.
A search of McMullen's hospital locker turned up needles, a syringe holder and an intravenous line tap, and an examination of her home computer indicated she had been researching child poisoning, according to court records.
McLaren said the woman could have Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which caregivers cause illnesses in children or exaggerate their symptoms in an effort to draw attention to themselves.
Should this woman be found guilty, what do you feel would be an appropriate punishment? Surely just a few years behind bars is not sufficient.
One of the most vile acts a human being can commit is infanticide (or attempted infanticide). A helpless little child is utterly dependent upon and completely trusting of his mother. Those who commit such heinous acts should be locked up for the rest of their lives, and subjected to forced hard labor.
I'm sure it wouldn't be popular with the ACLU, but that hardly means such a policy would be unwise.
Article comments
1 - Matt Paprocki
I'm not so astonished that she did, but by the fact she was so stupid, she kept doing it. And if she wanted him dead, why did she take the kid to the hospital???
2 - Temple Stark
>>and said the only way it could have entered the bloodstream was "through injection, not consumption."
The only way this could possibly be true is if they found it in such large quantities.
But, not pretty .. and as RJ stated, severe legal punishment is needed. Have to start sending a messaage to the idiot parents out there: "Don't like your kid? Just give it up for adoption."
Tards.
3 - dalai_mama
Far be it for me to defend child abuse, but this woman has not been convicted and all of the evidence, every bit, is circumstantial.
In fact, the "discoverer" of MSbP, Roy Meadows, has just had his license to practice medicine lifted because the expert testimony he gave jailing several women was found to be scientifically baseless. Two of the convicted women have been released from prison and the rest are having their cases retried.
Even if we assume this woman did poison her child, is prison going to help her? Last I checked, the best solution for mental illness was treatment not prison.
MSbP is not in the DSM, though there is a disease called factitious disorder, and this woman may indeed suffer from it, but allegations of MSbP are becoming widespread, too often by medical professionals baffled by a child's symptoms and under pressure to find a solution to a mysterious illness.
One of the experts on false allegations of MSbP is Helen Hayward-Brown.
Despite the Patriot Act, our courts still operate on the tenet, Innocent until proven guilty.
4 - dalai_mama
RJ
I'm assuming you didn't know that the book you posted is aimed at these false allegations and the squishy science Meadows and other used to base "discover" this "syndrome."
5 - Amy
Child abuse is awful no matter in what circumstance it occurs. It is always sadder when the perpetrator is a parent. Worse, is when doctors and others in the medical establishment use the allegation to cover their own ignorance or malfeasance.
Check out a documentary which claims that MSbP doesn't exist; www.munchausenmovie.com or on amazon.com
6 - MAGS
HOW CAN A MOTHER BE GUILTY OF POISONING HER CHILD WHEN HE WAS SICK FOR SO LONG AND ONLY ONE TIME WAS E-COLI FOUND IN HIS BLOOD?(THAT FROM THE COURT TV WEBSITE). PERHAPS THERE WAS A PROBLEM IN THE CULTURE OR LAB MISTAKES? DOCTORS ARE NOT INFALLIBLE AND OFTEN BLAME THE PARENTS WHEN THEY CANNOT COME UP WITH A DIAGNOSIS.
7 - Pediatric Nurse
There is so much more to this than meets the eye. I am a pediatric nurse. I often have IV supplies, like syringes in my locker. I use them at least half a dozen times a shift so I carry extras in my pocket. At the end of the day, I empty my pockets and leave the supplies in my locker. If she was really poisoning him, do you think that she would be stupid enough to leave the supplies in her locker?
As for E-Coli in the baby's blood, it is quite feasible that a nurse could have contaminated an IV by not washing her hands after changing a diaper. It is also possible that the specimen was contaminated by unclean hands. Remember, the child was admitted to the hospital with diarrhea. There was a lot of diaper changing going on there.
It sounds gross and horrible but I know from experience that it is possible. Just check out the literature on nosocomial infections.
This case scares me to death. It amazes me how a few small things taken out of context are being used by the media to convict this person in the court of public opinion
I plan to wait to see what the evidence holds. Look what happened to that Brazilian electrician in London this week. He's dead. Oops I guess he wasn't a terrorist after all.
8 - Davida
That is very sad to see a mother harm her own child.Why would anyone do such a horrible thing its so sad.
9 - sarah slater
this is some sick stuff. i believe that the child should be safe first, even if mother is falsely convicted to be SURE that he isn't suffering. Too many times in this country mother's have hurt there children. mental illness is real, and it's no joke. children depend on their mother's and when they can't then we need to be there. And where are the fathers. Pay attention to what is going on, please. i believe if guilty, child, or children are taken away and every child after that is to be taken away, if becomes pregnant again. it makes my heart ache to think people are more worried about an innocent mother than a suffering child- make laws for these mothers so harm comes to these helpless beings, it makes no sence to me where are we for these kids in this country lately?? do they have no rights?? and if mother is guilty, she should more jail time then a person does who gets caught with drugs. let's put people in jail who belongs there please, killers and rapists, or doobie smokers. who seem more threatening to you?? -mother of two, psychiatric nurse
10 - Les Slater
Hi Sarah,
Even if the mother is guilty, she needs treatment. It is unlikely that a mentally stable mother would do such a thing. Certainly the child should be given all the medical and social help that it needs.
But, she has not been proven guilty and the info here is not conclusive.
Les
11 - Les Slater
RJ,
“One of the most vile acts a human being can commit is infanticide…”
It used to be common. It was because of extreme economic pressure. I would put the blame on those societies that gave rise to such practices.
As I am sure you know, the Criminal Justice industry has grown enormously in the past decade or so. The resources of higher education dedicated to CJ have likewise grown.
There is approximately 1% of the adult population in the U.S. incarcerated, over 2,000,000 people. In some towns prisons are the number one industry.
As for the woman and child under discussion, they should be separated TEMPORILY until the matter is resolved.
Also, the decay of society is no excuse to commit crime. Such crimes should be punished, and persons committing them should be given competent psychiatric examinations and treated as necessary.
Something has gone terribly wrong and incarerating more people is not going to solve anything.
Les
12 - jenny pittwater
i don`t know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!