Sheena Wood, inset via the Franklin County Regional Jail, was arrested after her son was so malnourished he developed Refeeding Syndrome, which can occur in malnourished patients, cops say. The alleged incident happened at a home in Frankfort, Kentucky. Hospital officials called police after the disabled boy was near death. (House photo: LEX)
Police in Kentucky arrested a mom who they say nearly starved her “physically helpless” son to death.
Sheena Wood, 39, faces charges of first-degree assault, first-degree criminal abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor.
A social worker at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville contacted the Frankfort Police Department on Jan. 17 after one of their patients, a disabled boy, was in near fatal condition. The boy had been admitted on Jan. 11 for a bedsore but as doctors treated him they realized he was suffering from malnutrition and may have developed refeeding syndrome. According to the National Institutes of Health, the syndrome is defined as “potentially fatal shifts in fluids and electrolytes that may occur in malnourished patients receiving artificial refeeding.” It can occur in patients who have “negligible food intake” for more than five days, the NIH says.
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An arrest citation reviewed by Law&Crime says Wood caused “cruel punishment and torture” to her son when the lack of food she gave him caused the boy to “slowly starve.” She exhibited “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” the citation said.
Wood allegedly “failed or refused to exercise reasonable diligence” as a parent to prevent him from becoming neglected.
Frankfort police arrested Wood Monday and took her to the Franklin County Regional Jail on a $25,000 bond. A spokesman for the department told Law&Crime the incident remains under investigation and declined further comment.
Wood has a court hearing scheduled for Feb. 6.
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