An Ohio court sentenced a mother to at least in prison for killing her four-year-old diabetic daughter, Karmity Hoeb, by feeding her Mountain Dew through a baby bottle, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The ruling comes after 41-year-old Tamara Banks pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in March 2024, the report noted. State law reportedly allows the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to extend someone’s sentence based on an inmate’s conduct while incarcerated; thus, Banks could serve up to 13 ½ years.
“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered,” Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp said, according to the outlet.
Prosecutors said Banks’ daughter died in 2022 after being malnourished and denied proper medical care, according to Fox 19. Both Banks and Christopher Hoeb, the child’s father, were indicted in 2023 for murder, involuntary manslaughter and endangering children.
Hoeb, 53, also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is set to be sentenced June 11, Fox 19 reported.
An Ohio mother was sentenced Friday to at least nine years in prison for the k*lling of her diabetic 4-year daughter after the mother fed her mainly Mountain Dew from a baby bottle.
Tamara Banks neglected and abused her four-year-old daughter Karmity Hoeb and denied her… pic.twitter.com/PSGIdb3Oql
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 25, 2024
The court followed the prosecution’s recommendation that the other charges be dismissed in exchange for the guilty pleas. “While the judge held Tamera to the most he could with her prior conviction, I still feel like that process was rushed,” Jerry Banks, Tamera’s son, said during an interview with Fox 19.
The parents found their daughter unresponsive Jan. 21, 2022 and called 911, Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in a press release. She was later taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where it was determined she was brain dead. She was taken off child support three days later and passed away, according to Fox 19. (RELATED: Baby Dies After Mother Allegedly Left Her Home Alone For 10 Days To Travel)
The coroner ruled the cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous complication of diabetes, the outlet explained. Jerry Banks claimed he never met his sister because the parents kept her away from other family members.
