Mother faces murder trial for allegedly poisoning son, 5, with excessive salt
A mother is facing murder charges for allegedly poisoning her five-year-old son with salt and documenting his decline on social media.
A confounding and heartbreaking murder case alleging that a mother purposely poisoned her 5-year-old son with salt and documented his decline on social media began Monday in the New York suburbs.
Lacey Spears, 27, who presented herself online as a supremely devoted mother, is charged with depraved murder and manslaughter in the death a year ago of Garnett-Paul Spears.
“This mother was intentionally feeding her child salt at toxic levels,” prosecutor Doreen Lloyd said at Spears’ arraignment.
The boy’s sodium levels rose to a dangerous point with no medical explanation, prosecutors said, leading to a swollen brain, seizures and death. They believe his single mother, who was sharing his hospital administered salt through a feeding tube into Garnett’s stomach.
All the while, she was keeping followers up to date with 28 online postings in the last 11 days of his life, noting his death with, “Garnett the great journeyed onward today at 10.20 a.m.” She had tens of thousands of entries over Garnett’s lifetime, many about his doctor and hospital visits.
“My Sweet Angel Is In The Hospital For The 23rd Time,” Spears tweeted on November 9, 2009, adding a sad-faced emoticon. “Please Pray He Gets To Come Home Soon.”
