The prosecuting attorney called this “one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered”
An Ohio mother has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the death of her four-year-old child, who was fed a diet consisting of Mountain Dew and baby formula.
Tamara Banks, 41, pled guilty to manslaughter in March, after her daughter, Karmity Hoeb, died of a diabetes-related brain injury. The girl’s father also pled guilty and will be sentenced next month.
“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered,” said Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp said.
“This child did not have to die.”
Prosecutors told how Banks regularly gave her daughter bottles of baby formula mixed with soda. Her mother, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, told the court she “thought I was taking care of her.”
Karmity died as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis. Although she showed signs of a severe medical issue for days, her mother didn’t call 911 until she had turned blue and stopped breathing. The young girl was found to be brain dead.
Prosecutors argued that Karmity was abused and neglected. At the time of her death, her teeth had all totally rotten away. She had never been taken to a dentist.
Prosecutors also argued that Karmity should have known better, because she had a son who slipped into a diabetic coma at the same age as Karmity.
“It’s hard to be a good parent, but you expect at least mediocre parents,” Common Pleas Judge Victor Haddad said at the sentencing on Friday.
“Not knowing what to do is not an excuse.”