Mom Sentenced For Poisoning Infant At Hospital, Causing Permanent Brain Damage And Induced Coma

A mother in New Zealand has been sentenced for poisoning her infant son while he was fighting for life after being hospitalized due to an infection.

The unidentified woman from Auckland was sentenced today to 11 months of home detention after she pleaded guilty earlier this year to tampering with the infant's feeding tube, Stuff reported.

The woman admitted to deliberately mixing antidepressants, pharmaceutical eye drops and nasal spray to the infant's milk while the premature boy was hospitalized due to bronchitis in August 2019. She continued to poison her infant repeatedly for over a week and a half during this period.

The infant suffered permanent brain damage and had to be put in an induced coma. A medical report indicated that the infant had lost tissues in three locations in the brain.

“What happened to [the toddler] was a dagger to the heart. He was very nearly killed," the infant's father said during his victim impact statement in court. "He went through an awful lot of operations and tests that came with their own risks," he added, as reported by the outlet.

The court found that the woman had searched online on topics like“drugs that can kill toddlers” and "child poisoning through eye drops" while she was with her son at the hospital. She initially said she did not know why she committed the crime, but later revealed that it was to bring attention to herself. The woman who had a history of mental illness also said she wanted to relieve herself of the parenting duties, Otago Daily Times reported.

The woman was diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome, where a person fakes sickness or injury to get attention. However, Justice Gordon, who presided over the sentencing Friday observed that there was no link between her condition and the offense she committed.

The woman also had a history of depression, alcohol abuse, gambling and an anti-social disorder, the court previously heard.

The court also placed special conditions during her home detention that included her not being allowed to be alone with children under the age of 16 without a suitable adult.