A Michigan mother who starved her teenager to death was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole – with a judge tearing her apart for “systemic torture” of the youngster.
Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was found guilty last month in the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson, who weighed just 69 pounds when he was found dead in July 2022 in a closet that forced him to sleep, wrapped only in a sheet.
“I’ve been trying now for this whole case to wrap my mind around how someone could do something so horrible, not only to another human being but to their own child,” Judge Matthew Kacel said.
“You deliberately and systematically tortured this child. Let’s call it what it is: It’s torture. You are torturing this child … This is not punishment. You are not trying to stop his behavior. You are torturing him.”
Vander Ark was also sentenced to an additional 50 to 100 years in prison for first-degree child abuse, a sentence that exceeded sentencing guidelines that Kacel said was appropriate for Timothy’s “long-term suffering.”
The teenager died of malnutrition and hypothermia after suffering months of brutal abuse at the hands of her mother, as well as her brother, Paul Ferguson, who claimed she was operating under Vander Ark’s orders.
Timothy, who has a mild mental disability and is home-schooled, is routinely fed hot sauce, shackled and zip-tied and unable to sleep.
Shanda Vander Ark was sentenced to life in prison for abusing her 15-year-old son to death. courttv.com
Vander Ark also ordered 20-year-old Paul Ferguson — who faces one count of first-degree child abuse for his alleged involvement in the crime — to taunt his younger brother with frozen pizza rolls and pour hot sauce on his younger brother’s privates.
The ice bath was one of the teenager’s regular abuses — Paul Ferguson testified that he left Timothy in a freezing tub for four hours before the boy’s death. Paul Ferguson said he only did that because Van Ark said so.
Photographs of Timothy Ferguson’s lifeless body shown in court revealed bruises and ribs almost visible through his skin — scenes that caused Vander Ark to vomit during his final testimony on the stand.
The judge displayed a picture of a smiling Timothy Ferguson to preserve his dignity.
Judge Kacel, saying he did not want to rob Timothy of his dignity, displayed a photo of the smiling boy on the bench.
“I choose to remember him that way. And you can’t see it,” Kacel said, speaking to Vander Ark.
“That’s what she was: a beautiful child with so much life in her eyes. That’s your son, and you took it from him … We know who you are. That’s how I will honor him. You don’t win because justice — thank god in this case — wins.”
Judge Matthew Kacel exceeded sentencing guidelines for Vander Ark’s child abuse charges because of the “long-term suffering” Timothy suffered. Court TV
The killer’s mother, wearing an orange prison braid and her hair in two thin braids, refused to speak when given the chance, instead shaking her head to signify “No.”
Vander Ark’s attorney, Fred Johnson, said his client brought Timothy into her home while working as a single mother who put herself through school and the hardships that came with it.
“These are survivors. Someone who pulls himself up by his shoelaces,” Johnson said. “We don’t see evil, we see pain.”
Timothy had to sleep in a large closet with a tarp as a blanket. Muskegon County Jail
Paul Ferguson pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse in December and is expected to be sentenced in late February.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
