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Woman accused of poisoning son in hospital
She allegedly injected salt-water solution into infant's feeding tube

PITTSBURGH - A Tennessee woman has been charged with attempted homicide for trying to poison her 4-month-old son at a city hospital by injecting a saltwater solution into his feeding tube, police said.

Twenty-one-year-old Amber Brewington, who was taken into custody late Tuesday following the latest alleged poisoning attempt, told investigators she was trying to speed up the boy’s death to end his suffering, according to a police affidavit.

The boy, Noah King, remained in critical condition with sodium poisoning at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Brewington told investigators that King was admitted to a hospital in Columbia, Tenn., in May and was later transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he suffered unexplained seizures and possible brain damage, police said.

While at the Nashville hospital, Brewington “gave her infant son four to five full syringes of high volume salt water in attempts to speed up his death,” police wrote in an affidavit. “Amber felt that she did not wish to see her son suffer.”

Boy's condition worsens after mother visits
King was transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on July 9. Upon arrival, he had one of the highest recorded levels of sodium, even for an adult, according to the affidavit.

The boy’s condition became worse after his mother visited him on Sunday and again on Tuesday night, leading to Brewington’s arrest, Pittsburgh Police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.

Brewington admitted giving him another syringe of salt water on Sunday, though she denied she was trying to do it again when she was caught by a nurse Tuesday, police said.

Brewington was found with a syringe and two bottles of a children’s drink that had been emptied and replaced with salt water, the affidavit said. Police believe Brewington was using the syringe to inject the solution into the child’s feeding tube.

Investigators believe the boy had also been poisoned in Tennessee, Stangrecki said.

“We believe last night was another attempt to deliver more salt water or sodium to her child,” Stangrecki said Wednesday.

Brewington, of Duck River, Tenn., was also charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. She was awaiting arraignment in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if she would have an attorney representing her at the hearing.

The boy’s father was questioned, but is not suspected of wrongdoing and faces no charges, Stangrecki said.

Stangrecki said he’s not sure if Brewington is married to the child’s father. Brewington has two children with him and a third child by another man, Stangrecki said.

It was unclear who currently has custody of Brewington’s other children.

Woman accused of poisoning son - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com

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Jiro

I hope this is not the case of... I forget what's it called. It's a mental illness where a mother was seeking attention from people (like doctors) by intentionally poisoning her child.

jillio

Munchausen's by Proxy. That's exactly what this sounds like.

Reba

That's what I thought, too.

One thing I don't understand from the article; was the baby originally hospitalized for a real illness or condition, and then the mom injected him? Or was the whole hospitalization a result of her poisoning him in the first place?

jillio

Well, it said he was taken to the hospital origninally with unexplained symptoms, one of which was seizures. That is typical of Munchausen's by Proxy. The first hospitalizations usually occur due to a report from the mother, or something like seizures that have been induced. The child gets better, goes home, and symptoms recur. This continues over a period of time until the parent is finally caught.

This is an extreme case, as the child is so young, and they usually have to suffer at the hands of their parent for several years, often having numerous surgeries and hospitalizations, before the parent is caught. These parents are usually very bright and have quite a bit of self learned medical knowlege, so they are difficult to detect.

If I were to make a guess, I'd say the mother most likely induced the original symptoms.

~♥~Pinky~♥~

That's sad! It sound like mother have mental illness. Why is infant have a tube feeding?

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Reba

I think you're right.

jillio

I'm pretty sure of my guess, but of course, don't know for sure based on just the article. But it is a reasonable guess.

LakeTahoe

I saw that on CNN yesterday...sad! I hope baby is ok!

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deafskeptic

That's my first thought upon reading this article; no need to tell you the name as jillio has already told you what's its' called. I wonder if the mother has done this to her other children in the past? I'm sure we'll find out as this story progresses. I've read about such cases.

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jillio

She's quite young so this may be her first child. But if she has other children, then one could expect to see the same pattern, although it probably varies by degree.

With Munchausen's by Proxy, often time a mother will begin the pattern with an older child, and abuse only that child until the child gets old enough to start to reveal what is going on or to object to what the mother is doing. She will then stop with that child, and begin the same pattern with a younger child. So while she abuses all of the children, she does so individually for a period of time, focusing on only one at a time.

deafskeptic

If this is her first child, then this case sounds extreme given the child's age and her age.

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jillio

Agreed. This is an extreme case.

pek1

I think this girl needs to learn birth control and how to say the word, "no," and keep her panties on. Three children by an unfit mother is three children too many.

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Jiro

i think it's safe to say that a typical reason for doing this heinous act is because this mother is young (21 years old) and that means she has to sacrificed everything for a child such as partying, dating, etc. She probably felt so lonely and thought having a cute baby wasn't what she expected.

I guess the father is non-existent... a deadbeat. or maybe in prison. Since this occurred in Tennessee.... I'm going have to guess she's black. If that's the case - I'm guessing this is not Munchausen's by Proxy after all. The article said the child was sick and had to be fed by tube... I'm guessing the mother just wants to "end" his life to stop the suffering and hardship.

there are a few crucial details missing... so we won't know for sure...

horselover61

The third child was from a different father then her other two kids. So they dont know who got the full custody of the kids but will find out later.

This is sad situation to see.

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Jiro

Like what pek1 said - she needs to keep her legs closed. Seems like she has ANOTHER mental illness where she thinks by having a child with a man, she'll keep him to herself for life. This girl needs to be locked up at mental hospital.

jillio

None of those are triggers for Munchausen's by Proxy. Munchausen's and Munchausens's by Proxy are factitious disorders, and often are comorbid with a long standing personality disorder.

Why would you assume that the mother is black simply because this happened in Tennessee?

The child is most likely being fed by tube due to the unexplained illnesses inflicted by the mother. If she was inducing vomiting, for example, they would have been quick to insert a feeding tube in a 4 month old child because a 4 month old child will become malnourished and dehydrated very quickly.

While there is some information missing, this is a typical pattern for Munchausen's by Proxy.

Reba

Just because it happened in Tennessee, why would you assume that the mother is black? Tennessee has plenty of white people.

If we're going to racially stereotype, I suggest that the woman and her child are both white because they have "white" names--Amber Brewington and Noah King.

Pepsi

When I read stories like this it just breaks my heart

Jiro

not racially stereotype but to get some general idea based on lack of details. if she is black, she may have intentionally poisoned her child to end the hardship in life and financial. if she is white, she may be having a Munchausen syndrome. or perhaps - Munchausen syndrome is not likely to occur in poor family. why? because this usually requires extensive knowledge of medical terminology and textbook descriptions of illnesses. and beside... how the hell poor people are going to afford repeated medical cares?

That's why I have deducted that in this case - it's probably a poor (and/or black) mom "mercifully killing" her sick child. That child probably has a history of illness and that's putting a strain on her especially financially.

Reba

The family is white. See the pictures here: NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - Woman Charged With Poisoning Infant Son

jillio

Likewise, the prevalence rates of Munchausen's by Proxy is highest in the well educated, caucasion female population.

jillio

Veru faulty logic. And simply because she stated that she was attempting toend her son's suffering doesn't mean that is what was actually motivating her. That would be a typical excuse used by someone with Munchausen's by Proxy.

jillio

Thanks for the link, Reba!

Jiro

I suppose yours is more faulty. Isn't it true that Munchausen's by proxy does not usually result in death?