Mother On Trial For Allegedly Murdering Her 5-Year-Old Son By Feeding Him ‘Toxic Levels’ Of Salt

A 27-year-old woman from Scottsville, Kentucky, who was considered by her friends and family to be a devoted mother, allegedly murdered her five-year-old son with salt, while documenting his steady fall from health on social media.

The mother, Lacey Spears, has been charged with murder and manslaughter for the death of her son, Garnett-Paul Spears, a year ago.

As prosecutor Doreen Lloyd said at Spears’ arraignment,”This mother was intentionally feeding her child salt at toxic levels,” adding that the child’s sodium levels rose to a dangerous point without any suitable medical explanation.

The ongoing intake of salt allegedly caused the child’s brain to swell, and he suffered numerous seizures prior to his death.

The prosecution team is claiming that Spears, a single mother, who was sharing a hospital room at Westchester Medical Center, administered salt through a feeding tube into the boy’s stomach.

To confound matters even further, the accused woman was keeping her social media followers up to date, with at least 28 postings in the last 11 days of the child’s life.

When poor Garnett finally passed away, Spears posted,”Garnett the great journeyed onward today at 10:20 a.m. My Sweet Angel Is In The Hospital For The 23rd Time. Please Pray He Gets To Come Home Soon.”

The social media posts are relevant to the case, as Spears’ online comments are to be introduced as evidence, as well as the fact that Spears had carried out research on her iPhone into the dangers of sodium in children and the properties of iodized salt.

According to the judge, Garnett’s hospital records from Alabama, Florida and New York are all relevant to the case, and “inextricably interwoven into the fabric of this case. They provide a history of the child’s medical issues and treatment leading up to his death. They illustrate the defendant’s role as custodian and care giver.”

Other evidence stacked against the accused includes bags used to feed the child, which prosecutors say have “extraordinary” concentrations of sodium.

The murder charge itself says that the child was killed, “under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life” rather than with intent and carries the same maximum sentence as intentional murder.