A woman in the US was sentenced on Friday to at least nine years in prison for manslaughter after she fed her diabetic daughter a diet consisting mainly of Mountain Dew. According to the New York Post, her 4-year-old daughter Karmity Hoeb died in January 2022 from complications related to diabetes and severe dental decay.
Prosecutors said Tamara Banks caused her daughter's death through malnutrition and lack of proper medical care. She often gave the girl bottles of baby formula mixed with the neon-green sugary soda. Many of the girl's teeth had rotten away at the time of her death, the court heard.
Mountain Dew notably contains 77 grams of sugar, far more than the less than 24 grams recommended by experts, according to the report. The little girl's father, Christopher Hoeb, 53, also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on June 11.
"This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered. This child did not have to die," Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp said.
The case came to light when the girl suffered a "serious medical issue" in January 2022. Her symptoms worsened as the days progressed and her mother only called 911 after she turned blue and stopped breathing, the Cincinnati Inquirer reported.
First responders were able to revive the child for a short time before taking her to the hospital, where doctors performed scans that showed she was brain dead. An autopsy showed that she died from a diabetes-related brain injury and being fed a sugary drink through a bottle that dissolved her teeth. She was never taken to the dentist, the paper reported.
Prosecutors also pointed out Banks has several other grown children who were treated poorly in her custody, including a son who fell into a coma at 4 years old from previously undiagnosed diabetes.
However, Banks regularly refilled her prescriptions and even had doctors visit her apartment to ensure that her medical needs were met.
"It's hard to be a good parent but you expect at least mediocre parents, everybody should expect that. Not knowing what to do is not an excuse, the judge said during Friday's hearing.
Under Ohio state law, Banks could serve as much as 13 and a half years if the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction decides to extend her sentence based on behaviour while jailed.
