Post by Joanna on Nov 29, 2018 18:27:32 GMT -5
Mother Tries to Kill Baby with Laxative
ST. PAUL, Minn. – “How to make a baby really sick.” “MiraLax overdose.” “Child salt death.”
These are some of the phrases a Lewiston mother typed into the web browser on her phone in the months before the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged her with attempting to endanger her infant’s life, authorities say. Investigators searched her phone after medical staff at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul notified police concerning troubling behavior involving the woman, after her 9-month-old son was admitted to the hospital last July 11 for “failure to thrive,” according to court documents. Medical staff suspected Megan Lee Kafer (above), 25, was harming her son, noting the infant appeared “emaciated” despite doctors’ “inexplicably ineffective” efforts to help him gain weight.
On July 26, the baby and Kafer were placed in a hospital room set up with a surveillance camera to monitor their interactions. It wasn’t long before the mother was observed inject something into what appeared to be her child’s feeding tube with a syringe. At this point, authorities entered the room and told Kafer they needed to talk to her. She reportedly began shaking uncontrollably as police took her into custody. Officers recovered the syringe, as well as two packages of MiraLax, an over-the-counter laxative, from her purse.
Syringe positive for laxative. She told police the MiraLax was for her and she only put water in the syringe in an effort to help her son gain weight, the complaint said. However, testing at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension determined the syringe contained MiraLax.
A subsequent search of Kafer’s phone revealed several internet searches related to overdosing on the laxative and other medical concerns involving babies, including searches for “Can a doctor tell if you overdose on MiraLax?,” “How to make a baby really sick,” “Mom gets 20 years to life for poisoning son with salt,” “Salt child death” and “How to make a baby vomit,” court documents indicate.
A medical report on the baby noted his “poor weight gain” during hospitalization was likely due to his mother’s “denying him nutrition through a combination of disconnecting/diverting his feeds and administering water.” It continued, saying, “there was every reason to believe” the infant’s prolonged weight issues were caused by “inflicted starvation” and the boy suffered a seizure during his hospitalization that appeared to be caused by hyponatremia, which can be caused from drinking too much water. Medical personnel contend Kafer both “falsified” and “induced” symptoms of illness in her son and used doctors “as a weapon to inflict harm on him.” Because of the mother’s actions the child underwent “numerous procedures and surgeries.” Court papers also indicated Kafer’s parental rights have since been terminated.
Husband calls allegations against wife misleading. But Jacob Kafer, the woman’s husband, Kafer’s husband, said Monday his wife’s parental rights have not been terminated and his family is working hard to be reunited. The couple has one other child. “We are trying to get the family back together in a way that is safe and healthy for everyone,” he added.
Because the incidents took place at Children’s Hospital, Jacob Kafer said his wife has started working with a counselor and is taking medication. “Everything is moving in the right direction,” he said. However, he admitted it is unclear what mental health diagnosis is correct for his wife and that she has struggled in recent months. He does not believe she suffers from Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome, but noted he works as an engineer and has no training in psychology. The syndrome is one in which someone, usually a parent, hurts another person or causes illness to gain sympathy for themselves, according to the Mayo Clinic. “I am not saying there wasn’t an issue, there definitely was ... I just don’t think it’s [Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome],” the husband continued. “My wife was definitely not in a proper mental state, but to the extreme that they make it out to be and have laid out in the complaint, it’s not quite like that.” He also noted he had recently regained full physical and legal custody of his children and hopes his wife will as well, adding that he and his wife intend to fight the charges.
History of PTSD. Megan Lee Kafer received a diploma from Winona State University in 2016. A news article in the Winona Daily News around that time highlighted her past struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder following her involvement in a fatal car accident years prior. The article indicated she had turned to self-harming behaviors and medication after the crash and ultimately got a service dog.
She is charged with one count of felony-level child endangerment that could result in substantial harm or death. She is scheduled to appear in court on the charge in mid-December.
Source: Sarah Horner, The St. Paul Pioneer-Press, November 27, 2018.
