Poisoning trial under way-Mom accused of making son ill with common drug

[Guest guest]

Poisoning trial under way

Mom accused of making son ill with common drug

Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH

By ERICA BLAKE

BLADE STAFF WRITER

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20070501/NEWS02/705010381

When Weaver's son was taken from her home in 2005 and entered

foster care, he was so weak and ill that he almost had to be carried

into the house, a Lucas County assistant prosecutor said yesterday.

Yesterday, that boy, now 11 and seemingly healthy, testified that

the illnesses that plagued him for more than a year while living

with his mother have since stopped.

Ms. Weaver, 28, of Springfield Township, appeared in Lucas County

Common Pleas Court yesterday for the first day of her felony child

endangering trial. She is accused of causing her son a number of

illnesses during a 16-month period beginning in early 2004 and faces

up to eight years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors told the four men and 10 women of the jury Ms. Weaver

poisoned her son with Ipecac syrup, an over-the-counter product that

induces vomiting. Defense attorneys countered that Ms. Weaver and

her son lived in a home that was infested with toxic mold.

In her opening statements, Lori Olander, an assistant county

prosecutor, said after Ms. Weaver's son left her care, " he went from

an extremely ill child to an extremely healthy one. "

The boy " wasn't just sick. He was being made sick, " she said.

The Blade is not identifying the victim because he is a juvenile.

The boy, who nervously toyed with his face and shirt, answered

questions in court about the symptoms he endured and the many doctor

and hospital visits that were necessary. In particular, he recalled

drinking a brown syrup his mother called " Coke syrup " that he said

tasted bad.

The boy has not seen his mother since he was removed from her home

and now lives with his father.

Defense attorney Lorin Zaner asked about the boy's many karate belts

that he earned during his time living with his mother and entered

into evidence a wooden board the boy broke as part of a karate

exercise.

The boy " was exposed to a number of people who may be well meaning

but who clearly had some effect on his recollection of what

happened, " Mr. Zaner told jurors during his opening statements. " Not

only did [the boy] have numerous conditions and serious injuries

from exposure to toxic mold, but Weaver had injuries from

exposure to toxic mold. "

During jury selection, Rob , an assistant county prosecutor,

asked potential jurors if they were familiar with the concept of

Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which was described by one juror as

when " an adult can intentionally make a child ill as an attention-

getting device for the adult. "

Also testifying were two local pediatric doctors who cared for the

boy during his illnesses.

Dr. Karolyi of sburg Pediatrics testified that the signs

and symptoms she saw in the boy during her treatment of him

could " unfortunately " be caused by Ipecac.

Dr. Suarez, a pediatric cardiologist at Mercy Children's

Hospital, admitted he was not aware of all the types of mold and

that a child could get better from mold ingestion if removed from

the home where it is.

He said he believed the boy became healthier after leaving the

hospital because the poison that was in his body was removed.

When asked what he thought the poison was, Dr. Suarez said Ipecac.

The trial will resume today before Judge Jensen and is

expected to last all week.

Contact a Blake at:

eblake@...

or 419-213-2134.

[Guest guest]

OMGosh!

This is just SOOOOOOOO ironic that I am reading this article! This

morning I was thinking about how no one listens to any of of about

toxic mold! I got to thinking that if a child was posioned by mold,

that the Department of Social Service and Child Protective Services

would be all over the parents doors steps and taking the kid away!

BUT, giving a child Ipecac syrup is bad news! I had to give my son a

dose once when he ate potato sprouts that I was planting in my garden

when he was 2 years old. I called posion control and they said for

me to give him a dose..I ran down the street and bought some. He

never threw up like he was suppose to do from the does of Ipecac

syrup. Since he did not throw up, posion control said to take him to

ER. He threw up on me on the way and it was such a forceful throw

up..I mean, that child was sick from that stuff, but, to get the

potato sprout posion out of his system, that was the treatment back

then but it is only meant for like a one time dose when a child ate

something they shouldn't...not everyday.

But, being the focus on this article is basically about the Ipecac

syrup, the mold part may not get much attention. Plus, the doctor

said the boy would get better being removed from the toxic

enviroment..this is true to an extent BUT, the doctor still failed to

mention what long term problems this child may have from being

exposed to toxic mold. Most of us on this group have already moved

away from our toxic enviroment but our health is far from being

OK...increased sensitivity to everything in my enviroment has been a

huge issue for me since the mold! Why can't medical care get it??? I

mean, when there are 1,000,000's who are saying they have been sick

since mold, why won't someone listen??

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

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> Poisoning trial under way

> Mom accused of making son ill with common drug

>

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