A Michigan jury convicted a woman for torturing her special needs son to death, following her distraught testimony where she appeared to throw up after seeing photos of his malnourished body on the stand, according to Law&Crime.
The 44-year-old woman, identified as Shanda Margaret Vander Ark, was convicted Friday of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse after she allegedly withheld food from the 15-year-old boy, Timothy Ferguson, who died in their home basement, the outlet reported.
Vander Ark had taken to the stand Thursday afternoon where she appeared to become distraught and could be heard either dry heaving or vomiting after she was shown a picture of Ferguson’s dead body. Following a request from her lawyer, Fred Johnson, to dismiss court for the rest of the day, Vander Ark did not return the next day when court had resumed, according to Law&Crime.
The presiding judge agreed to continue her sentencing without her present, stating that Vander Ark was out due to “a medical issue,” the outlet reported. (RELATED: ‘Brutal Death’: Police Arrest Man Who Allegedly Killed Baby By Throwing Him To The Wall)
“She’s unable to be here for a medical issue,” Judge Matthew Kacel stated. “We will continue the trial in her absence.”
NEW: Mother who starved her disabled 15-year-old son to death barfs on stand after she was showed photos of his starved body just hours before he died.
There is a special place in h*ll for people like this
Shanda Vander Ark tortured her own son by making him take four hour long… pic.twitter.com/hhmQA5TStJ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 17, 2023
During her testimony, Vander Ark had claimed that she allegedly suffered from PTSD after her wheel-chair bound husband had suffered from a stroke in January 2022, Law&Crime reported. Her defense also claimed that she had trouble remembering the events around her son’s time of death, alleging she had a list of mental health challenges such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sensory processing disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder, according to the outlet.
However, prosecutors had reportedly revealed text messages from Vander Ark to her older son, Paul, in which she questioned torturing Ferguson by “dripping” hot sauce onto his “private parts.” When confronted if the ideas had just “popped” into her head, the 44-year-old mother claimed she “had no idea,” Law&Crime reported.
“I wonder how it would feel to have that hot sauce on your private parts,” Vander Ark allegedly wrote. “I’m not saying touch him there, not at all, but dripping a little bit there, is that horrible.”
During the reported day of Ferguson’s death, prosecutors claimed that Vander Ark had suggested to Paul to feed him frozen pizza rolls “if he actually sits up by himself,” the outlet reported. (RELATED: Woman Receives 25-Years-To-Life For Sedating Special Needs Son To Death)
“Tell him if he actually sits up by himself and stays sitting up, he’ll get some pizza rolls,” Vander Ark allegedly stated. “Don’t tell him it’s only two, and I’m okay if they are frozen rather than cooked.”
The 44-year-old mother, however, had claimed that she had locked the fridge and pantry in order to stop Ferguson from inappropriately sneaking food, noting that he had taken a full bag of frozen chicken at one time.
Official autopsy records showed that Ferguson had died due to a combination of malnourishment and hypothermia, with authorities claiming that Vander Ark only fed him bread and hot sauce, according to Law&Crime.
While video footage of Vander Ark’s installed cameras, motion sensors, and alarms throughout her home were not provided to the jury based on the presiding judge’s ruling that it would be prejudicial, Lt. Joel Hoeksema did testify to the evidence on the stand, the outlet reported.
Hoeksema described Vander Ark allegedly dragging her son into a closet, noting that he had not been “wearing any pants” and his bones were “protruding.” The officer additionally alleged that footage from Ferguson’s final moment was recorded when Vander Ark could be seen clamping his “mouth shut.”
“Very thin, bones protruding,” Hoeksema stated. “In particular, he wasn’t wearing any pants, so I could see his hip bones and his knee joint very prominently displayed as she positioned him in front of the camera.”
“He was taking short shallow breaths through his mouth, kind of picture how a fish out of water would breathe, and she clamps his mouth shut and tells him he doesn’t need to breathe like that, and holds his mouth shut for a period of time… and tells him, ‘See you didn’t need to breathe through your mouth like that; you’re being a dummy,” Hoeksema stated.
Prosecutors stated that following the incident Paul and Vander Ark had waited 18 minutes to call 911 after finding Ferguson unresponsive, according to Fox 17.
Vander Ark’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29, Fox 17 reported.