A mother in Maryland decided to put some rubbing alcohol on her 8-year-old son’s hand and set it on fire because she was so upset with him for scoffing at his cereal.
In May 2020, the boy’s hand in their Germantown apartment caught fire, but the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports that the flames also extended to his chest and head.
The victim was then thrown into the shower by 31-year-old Kimberly Tyler and her wife, Chareese Snorgrass-Tyler.
Playing the victim role in response to a family member’s criticism of Tyler’s behavior, she questioned aloud why people were more concerned about the youngster than with her, claiming that “nobody gives a f— about me.”
A jury found her guilty in December of first-degree child abuse and conspiracy to neglect a minor as a result of her acts. A judge sentenced her to 25 years in prison on Friday, with an additional five years on probation.
“This was among the worst we have seen when it comes to child abuse cases. The level of harm caused by someone in the ultimate position of trust, the child’s mother, is unfathomable. Our hearts are with the young victim and those now entrusted with his care,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy stated.
In addition to first- and second-degree burns to his face and upper torso, the youngster also sustained third-degree burns to his arm, chest, and neck. Prosecutors alleged that he had burns over 25% of his body.
Tyler made an appointment for her parents, Kimball Tyler and Lisa Jones, to come over rather than dialing 911 or going to the hospital.
Kimberly Tyler went to the store with her father to get burn cream, gauze, and bandages. At that point, the defendants agreed that the youngster would remain at Kimball Tyler’s house. Kimberly Tyler disregarded her father’s pleas for the boy to be treated medically for the next two weeks.
Prosecutors claimed that she carried on as if everything was fine during that period.
In a statement of facts, the prosecution stated that, “She would have people over at her house and would be smoking and drinking. The defendant wanted the victim out of sight and out of mind. When people would inquire of the defendant where the victim was, she would simply tell them that he was visiting his grandparents. During the two weeks the victim was at Kimball and Lisa’s apartment, the Defendant went to visit him one time.”
In the end, Kimball Tyler visited the Children’s National Medical Center with his grandson. The youngster was screaming in agony by that point, and his cuts were infected with “puss dripping off them.”
“His wounds smelled so foul, that an infectious disease team was brought in to assess them,” prosecutors stated. “He had multiple contractures on his next and upper extremities where the scars were so thick and shrunken up that it limited his joint mobility.”
