A South Carolina mom has been arrested for allegedly poisoning her own baby with a dangerous amount of table salt. Fox 8 News reports that 23-year-old Kimberly Martines has been charged in association with the incident , while authorities have updated the public with tragic news.
Police became aware of the alleged child abuse on Saturday when they received a call from Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. The unnamed 17-month-old baby had been admitted at the facility, and was suffering from seizures. It didn’t take long for the child to be diagnosed with acute salt poisoning, which triggered immediate suspicion against the South Carolina mom.
Fox Carolina reports that the 23-year-old mom was arrested on accusations that she intentionally fed the baby a full teaspoon of salt. Furthermore, authorities claim that the woman has admitted to the shocking incident. The South Carolina woman, however, has not reportedly given an explanation or motive behind the alleged poisoning of her own baby.
Does Lacey Spears, Mom Who Poisoned Son, Have Munchausen Syndrome? -… – https://t.co/DthxYgEEW1 pic.twitter.com/hisxgoDmX7
— Wency Garcia (@WencyGarcia88) April 9, 2016
This isn’t the first time someone has been arrested for poisoning a child with salt. Last year, a woman by the name of Lacey Spears was convicted of poisoning her own child to death with the table condiment. The woman, who was a mommy blogger, reportedly dosed her son with salt to keep him sick — all so she could continue getting sympathy from others. Spears was ultimately sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment for her horrible actions.
Lacey Spears, the mommy blogger who killed her 5-year-old with salt, gets 20 years in prison. http://t.co/CZHwZo4Uxr pic.twitter.com/vbLpwst57m
— UPI.com (@UPI) April 9, 2015
In 2006, a Texas child named Andrew Burd was reportedly poisoned with salt by his foster mother. However, Hannah Overton’s charges were ultimately dropped. The Texas woman served several years in prison before she was released. While she has supporters who believe her conviction was a mistake, there are others who believed she did indeed abuse her adoptive child to death.
In the tragic case of Lacey Spears, it’s popularly believed that the woman suffered from a psychological condition known as Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy. This condition causes mothers to inflict injuries on their own children in order to get attention, whether it be from medical professionals, the public, or their own loved ones. One famous mother who had this horrible psychological condition was Marybeth Tinning.
Convicted child-killer Marybeth Tinning denied parole for fifth time http://t.co/rD02P0kYUC Schenectady pic.twitter.com/FuIBbP9mPX
— Steven Cook (@ByStevenCook) February 10, 2015
Tinning’s story is one of the most notorious cases of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, and often referred to as America’s worst case. Several of the woman’s kids died under mysterious circumstances until she was caught red-handed, and ultimately convicted. She was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment, which is a sentence she continues to serve after nearly 30 years.
No parole for Marybeth Tinning again. Admits killing 1, not 8, of her children. #Munchausen http://t.co/xsbDB1qXQs pic.twitter.com/1hpcjjigX6
— Daily Gazette (@dgazette) February 10, 2015
As for South Carolina mom, Kimberly Martines, a tragic update has been released in her case. The 17-month-old infant, who was previously reported to be on life support, has died as a result of salt poisoning. Now charges against the alleged victim’s mom could be upgraded. Originally, the 23-year-old mother had been charged with felony child abuse when she had admitted to feeding the infant salt.
Even if charges aren’t upgraded for Martines, she could still face 20 years of imprisonment if convicted of felony child abuse. Meanwhile, authorities have revealed that other children belonging to the South Carolina mom have been removed from her custody. This includes the twin sister of the deceased infant in this heartbreaking case.
[Image via Spartanburg Police]
