Mom Kept Feeding Daughter Mountain Dew Until She Died at 4 Years Old — Then Offered Odd Justification in Court

Content warning: This article contains details of child abuse and killing.

It is always said that parents know best, and in most cases, they do. However, this Ohio mom did something that will infuriate even people who aren’t parents. In a deadly case, an Ohio mother, Tamara Banks, slowly killed her daughter by feeding Mountain Dew through a baby bottle for much of her life.

The child, identified as Karmity Hoeb (K.H.), was 4 years old when she died after enduring years of neglect, untreated diabetes, and severe tooth decay. She was never taken to a dentist. On top of that, Banks and her husband, Christopher Hoeb, mixed baby formula with Mountain Dew and fed it to her from a bottle.

At 3 or 4 years old, K.H. was well past the age of being fed with a bottle.

Prosecutors also revealed that the child’s death was caused by diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe complication linked to untreated diabetes. Authorities alleged that her diabetes went undiagnosed and untreated for a long period of time.

Reportedly, K.H. was suffering, but Banks never took action. In January 2022, she only called 911 after her symptoms worsened and she turned blue and stopped breathing.

First responders revived the girl before she was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. However, doctors later determined she was brain-dead and was removed from life support days later.

According to a press release from Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney Mark J. Tekulve, K.H. was fed “mostly Mountain Dew, through a baby bottle.” The sugary soda allegedly caused her teeth to rot badly. By the time of her death, she had “almost no teeth left in her mouth.”

As investigators revealed the details surrounding the child’s daily life, it was clear she died of prolonged abuse and medical neglect. Tekulve said:

“Due to the neglect and abuse by her parents, K.H. suffered for the majority of her short life.”

Reportedly, this is not the first child to have suffered in Banks’ care. According to Jerry Banks, Tamara’s oldest son, another child, a 4-year-old boy, fell into a coma at age 4 from undiagnosed diabetes.

Even after waking up from a coma, Jerry’s brother wasn’t taken care of fully, as he missed follow-up appointments with doctors. He told Fox19:

“One day, he just went lethargic and wouldn’t move and the only thing he would respond to was sugar and for 36 hours, she [Tamara Banks] passed out in the back room.”

“I had to wake her up and force her to take him to the hospital and that’s when he was found to be in DKA; The same thing that happened to [K.H.]. The doctors just so happened to catch it in time to save him.”

He also said he never had the chance to meet K.H., as she was kept isolated from relatives.

Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp also said:

“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered.”

He also claimed that K.H. could’ve survived had her diabetes been treated on time, adding:

“This child did not have to die.”

The case later led to criminal charges against both parents. They were indicted in 2023 on murder, involuntary manslaughter, and child endangerment charges.

Banks pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 2024 and was sentenced to a minimum of nine years in prison. At the time of sentencing, she said:

“I thought I was taking care of her.”

Meanwhile, Hoeb was sentenced to at least seven years in prison.