Photo: Ramsey County Sheriff'’s Office
Police allege a 25-year-old Minnesota mother tried to starve her infant son using a common laxative, accusing her of searching the internet for ways she could harm the child without raising suspicion.
The complaint states that hospital personnel started to suspect the mother was intentionally harming the infant when their efforts to help him gain weight proved “inexplicably ineffective.”
Fox News reportsthe child was first admitted on July 11. The boy was placed in a hospital room containing surveillance cameras on July 26, and not long after, the cameras allegedly captured the young mother injecting something into the child’s feeding tube using a syringe, according to the complaint.
MiraLax is an over-the-counter laxative powder users take with water.
Police also searched Kafer’s purse and found two packets of MiraLax, which Kafer allegedly said she only used for herself.
According to the complaint, Kafer told police she injected untainted water into the feeding tube in an effort to help him gain weight. But lab testing revealed the syringe contained the laxative.
The child has since undergone several treatments and surgical procedures, and is recovering, thePioneer Pressreports.
Kafer’s parental rights have also been terminated.
Kafer is scheduled to appear in court next month and faces a single count of felony child endangerment that could result in substantial harm or death.
She is out on bond, but PEOPLE was unable to reach her or her attorney for comment. She has not entered a plea to the charge she faces.
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On Monday,Twin Cities Pioneer Pressspoke to Kafer’s husband, Jacob, who came to his wife’s defense.
“We are trying to get the family back together in a way that is safe and healthy for everyone,” he said, adding that Kafer is in counseling and taking medications.
“Everything is moving in the right direction,” he said.
He told the paper the couple plans to fight the charge.
source: people.com
