Sentenced: Mom Only Fed Bread Soaked In Hot Sauce To Disabled Teen, Subjected Him To Ice Baths

[Sugar Cookie]

A prosecutor says a western Michigan woman charged with the murder and child abuse of her malnourished 15-year-old son subjected him to ice baths that contributed to his death. Forty-three-year-old Shanda Vander Ark of Norton Shores was arraigned Friday on open murder and first-degree child abuse charges in the death of Timothy Ferguson.

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www.wdio.com

Prosecutor DJ Hilson spoke with 13 ON YOUR SIDE, calling this "the most disturbing case he has seen in his career."

Hilson says Vander Ark fed the boy only bread soaked in hot sauce, even pouring the hot sauce down his throat. He also says the boy was placed in an ice bath the day before his death, citing hypothermia as a contributing factor in his death.

Neighbors of Vander Ark told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that the boy had special needs and couldn't believe something like this could happen so close to home.

'This is the most disturbing thing I've seen' | Woman charged with homicide, child abuse of teenage son in Norton Shores

A 43-year-old woman has been charged with homicide in relation to the suspicious death of her teenage son.

www.wzzm13.com

A 7-year-old and 20-year-old also lived at the home, Roberts said.

“The investigation subsequently revealed that Shanda Vander Ark had a number of punishments … that frankly were just beyond the pale in terms of what should be administered to a child,” Roberts told the judge. “Most notably, the denial of food to the child, feeding the child nothing but bread and bread soaked in hot sauce and hot sauce poured down the child’s throat and placing the child in an ice bath.”

Vander Ark said little during her arraignment conducted via Zoom, rocking back and forth in her chair and crying out when the murder charge was announced.

She told Ladas Hoopes that she worked as a law clerk for Newaygo County Circuit Court and had graduated from law school, passed the bar exam but never was officially sworn in as an attorney. She said that was because her husband had suffered a stroke.

Roberts noted that the husband was in the care of his parents, and did not live at the home.

Vander Ark had previously been substantiated for child abuse and was to have her parental rights terminated in Oklahoma, except she agreed to vacate the home there and not have custody of her son, Roberts said.

“This is a tragedy that could have and should have been prevented,” he said. “Ms. Vander Ark should not have had custody of this child,”

The victim had some mental disabilities and did not attend school, instead being home-schooled, Roberts told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. The victim was discovered with bruising on his body, Roberts said.

It did not appear the 7-year-old or 20-year-old had suffered abuse, he said. The 7-year-old gave investigators information about what was happening in the home, which led in part to Vander Ark’s arrest on Thursday, July 7, he said.

The victim’s father lives in Florida and seems to be unaware of what transpired in the home, Roberts said.

Ice baths, denial of food led to teen’s death by mother’s hand, Muskegon prosecutor says

A Norton Shores woman is charged with murder and child abuse in the death of an “extremely malnourished” teen, according to a Muskegon County prosecutor.

www.mlive.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A week after a Muskegon County woman was charged with murder in her teen son’s death, the brother of the victim has been charged with child abuse.

Paul Byron Ferguson, 20, was arraigned Friday, July 15 on a charge of first-degree child abuse in connection with the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson on July 6.
https://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon...by-mothers-hand-muskegon-prosecutor-says.html

The teen’s mother, Shanda Vander Ark, 43, was charged July 8 with open murder and first-degree child abuse.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson on Friday, July 15 said he could not speak to the specific allegations against Paul Ferguson.

“Certainly, after we had a chance to sit down and take a look at the investigation, I felt there was enough there to charge the brother,” he said.

Brother charged with child abuse in teen’s death, a week after mother charged with murder

Paul Byron Ferguson, 20, was arraigned Friday, July 15 on a charge of first-degree child abuse related to treatment of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson. The teen died July 6 at the family's home

www.mlive.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

The Norton Shores mother charged in the death of her 15-year-old son was back in court Thursday. She will now undergo forensic evaluations over the next few months before the case proceeds.

43-year-old Shanda Vander Ark was charged in the death of her son, Timothy Ferguson, back on July 8th after police say they found the teen dead inside the home they shared on July 6th.

Timothy’s older brother, 20-year-old Paul Ferguson, was charged days later with first-degree child abuse in his brother’s death.

Together, Vander Ark and Paul Ferguson are accused of a sinister pattern of abuse that may have lasted for years.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson says the 15-year-old had special needs.

“As punishment – for I’m not sure what behavior – but as punishment, our 15-year-old was subject to ice baths, was subject to not being fed food other than bread or bread soaked in hot sauce,” Hilson told FOX 17 earlier in the month.

Vander Ark also has a history with child protective services out of Oklahoma, where the family lived briefly. But, she was never ordered to give up parental rights, or even contact with her three children.

"Obviously, we have no jurisdiction over what took place in Oklahoma. Certainly we are in receipt of those records, and those records are still coming in from Oklahoma that indicate exactly what had taken place," Roberts said.

"They obviously felt at some point there was a basis to at least state that her rights should have been terminated, but for whatever reason, they decided not to go forward."

Mom charged in the death of 15-year-old son will undergo competency evaluations

The Norton Shores mother charged in the death of her 15-year-old son was back in court Thursday. She will now undergo forensic evaluations over the next few months before the case proceeds.

www.fox17online.com

 

[Satanica]

If she was competent enough to fool authorities in Oklahoma, then fuck that evaluation. Of course, I know they have to do it.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

In the days prior to his death, a man allegedly taunted his malnourished younger brother with a frozen pizza roll, at his mother’s instruction, to see if the teen was still coherent.

If the boy tried to eat the pizza roll, the man was told to quickly take it away from him as a form of punishment.

The disturbing detail shared in text messages revealed in court Wednesday is part of the prosecutors’ case against Shandra Vander Ark. The text messages were allegedly exchanged between Vander Ark and her oldest son, Paul Ferguson, who are both charged in 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson’s death.

“She is intently torturing her own child,” Muskegon County District Judge Maria Ladas Hoopes said in her ruling. “His physical state is appalling.”

Last month, Vander Ark was found competent to stand trial.

Vander Ark, 43, and Paul Ferguson, 20, are alleged to have tortured Timothy Ferguson in various ways that contributed to the boy’s death. Timothy was autistic as well and speech and motor impaired, according to court testimony.

Police found the boy dead July 6 inside a Norton Shores home. Timothy was “extremely malnourished,” police said, and weighed 69 pounds at the time of his death.

Norton Shores Det./Sgt. Joel Hoeksema was a responding officer to the scene and testified there were five surveillance cameras located in the home. Police believe Vander Ark used the cameras to monitor what happened inside the home while she was at work.

Hoeksema read portions of text messages – extracted from Vander Ark and Paul Ferguson’s phone – that detailed the pair’s alleged abuse on Timothy Ferguson leading up to his death. In several text messages, Vander Ark and Paul Ferguson claimed the way Timothy was reacting to the abuse was him “faking it.”

“Please make sure you go downstairs regularly to make sure (Timothy is) not asleep before you leave (for work). Maybe we should leave the light on? That way it’ll be harder for him to fall asleep,” Hoeksema read from a message from Vander Ark to Paul Ferguson. " … Feel free to dump some cold water on him. … I honestly don’t care if you get a little rough with him.”

In another text, Vander Ark asked Paul Ferguson to pour hot sauce on Timothy’s genitals as a form of punishment. He declined.

The charged mother and son allegedly subjected Timothy to ice baths, restrained him with shackles and zip ties, and deprived him of food for month. A medical examiner determined Timothy died from malnourishment and hypothermia.

Timothy was also forced to sleep in a closet with nothing but a tarp, court testimony revealed.

Paul Ferguson, who is charged with first-degree child abuse, testified Wednesday under the condition that he will plead guilty later to his lone charge. In exchange, Muskegon County prosecutors won’t use his testimony against him.

Paul Ferguson told the court he gave his brother an ice bath one day prior to his death, leaving him in the tub for at least four hours. He said he would have never “done those things” if he wasn’t instructed to by his mother.

Pictures of Timothy’s lifeless body, displayed in court, showed bruises and markings on parts of his body and his ribs were nearly visible through his skin.

Vander Ark and Paul Ferguson deprived Timothy of food and water dating back to January 2022, court records show. The food Timothy was given, however, included bread soaked in hot sauce and occasionally rice.

Vander Ark had previously been substantiated for child abuse and was to have her parental rights terminated in Oklahoma, except she agreed to vacate the home there and not have custody of her son.

It’s still unclear why Vander Ark still had custody of Timothy in the months prior to his death.

Norton Shores mother accused of ‘intently torturing her own child’ to stand trial

Disturbing details shared in text messages were revealed in court Wednesday as part of the prosecutors’ case against the woman who is charged with murder in the death of her son.

www.mlive.com

Too bad this bitch can't be locked in a closet and starved to death.

 

[Sejanus]

Cunt.

 

[TerranceMahoney]

The details shared by Prosecutor DJ Hilson are indeed unsettling. Feeding a child only bread soaked in hot sauce and subjecting him to ice baths is not only inhumane but also potentially life-threatening. The fact that Timothy had special needs makes this case even more heartbreaking, as he should have received care and support.

If you're interested in making homemade sauce, check out this guide on making yum yum sauce.
However, in light of the seriousness of the forum post's topic, let's remember the importance of discussing such matters with the gravity they deserve.

 

[Satanica]

I looked up the recipe and it’s pretty easy. It’s apparently Japanese, so I’m not sure what one is supposed to eat it with. Interesting assortment of ingredients. Welcome to the Demon!

 

[Sugar Cookie]

The Michigan woman convicted of starving her disabled teenager to death violently vomited on the stand Friday after being shown pictures of his emaciated body hours before he died.

Shanda Vander Ark, 44, testified that she had given 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson a warm bath — a detail her older son briskly disputed — shortly before he was found dead in July 2022 in the glorified closet she forced him to sleep in, wrapped only in a tarp.

An autopsy determined the teenager — weighing just 69 pounds — died from malnourishment and hypothermia.

Prosecutor Matt Roberts pressed Vander Ark on the details of the alleged bath, confirming that she was the one who placed Timothy inside and washed him herself.

“He look like that when you put him in the bathtub?” Roberts asked after slapping several pictures of Timothy’s bruised and severely wasted body in front of his mother.

Vander Ark immediately raises a hand to her mouth and gags while looking at the photographs before giving in and profusely vomiting into a garbage can beneath the stand.

“I’m sorry,” she begins to say before being overwhelmed with another round of sickness that devolved into sobbing and prompted the judge to clear the courtroom.

Vander Ark was still sick and did not return to the courtroom when the jury returned her guilty verdict of murder and child abuse.

It took the jury just over an hour to deliberate. She faces mandatory life in prison when she is sentenced Jan. 29.

“She killed him. She starved him to death,” Roberts said.

Vander Ark also instructed Paul Ferguson — who faces one count of first-degree child abuse for his alleged hand in the crime — to taunt his younger brother with a frozen pizza roll and to pour hot sauce on his sibling’s genitals.

Though Paul Ferguson refused the latter, he admitted to carrying out many of his mother’s other deranged demands during his testimony against her.

“I’d say it’s something close to Stockholm Syndrome,” he said.

“I desire to find a role model that, due to my own low self-esteem, I would do anything to make them proud of me.”

Killer mom vomits on stand after being shown pictures of disabled 15-year-old son she starved to death: video

Shanda Vander Ark was still sick and did not return to the courtroom when the jury returned her guilty verdict of murder and child abuse. She faces life in prison.

nypost.com

 

[cubby]

Faker! She cared not one jot for her son, don't get sick and cry now.

 

[Taishobee]

Why why did she hate him so much?

 

[cubby]

Vinnie Politan says she was crocodile hurling. He's most likely right. She's a cold fish.

 

[Angiebla]

Why did she have such a visceral reaction to pics of her son, when she did the abuse? Was she on drugs when she treated him like that, and was sober in the courtroom?
I suspected she was a Psychopath, but then she would have no reaction. Im so confused.
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Ignore post above saw her fake puking. Was listening for the sound of vom and there wasnt one.

 

[runninfawn]

Why did she have such a visceral reaction to pics of her son, when she did the abuse? Was she on drugs when she treated him like that, and was sober in the courtroom?
I suspected she was a Psychopath, but then she would have no reaction. Im so confused.
[automerge]1702853481[/automerge]
Ignore post above saw her fake puking. Was listening for the sound of vom and there wasnt one.

and i noticed that after supposedly being violent sick she raised her head and boy my mouth never looked that clean after being sick ... she didn't wipe her mouth or anything just sort of turn a bit to say sorry ... then bent down even lower was it so she wouldn't make that mistake again ????? i think that "being sick" was a show so she wouldn't have to answer anything about how he looked when she "gave him a warm bath"... that was one lie that bit her in the butt big time ...

 

[cubby]

Did anyone see how appalled she was when they asked her if she would treat her dogs like she treated her son, she had more of a reaction to that than to anything related to her son.

She was asked if she would feed her dogs bread soaked in hot sauce and she looked shocked and said that she didn't feed her dogs people food. Kinda skirted the question there, Shonda.

 

[Blunderbuss Firozabad]

Hot sauce? Ice baths?
He would have been treated better if he'd been found by a family of bears while burglarizing their home.

 

[BuffettGirl]

She's got to be one of those types that believes with her whole being that the kid was autistic just to spite her. That he was intentionally 'misbehaving' to irritate her. Never once stopping to see the (scary) world from her (very different) child's point of view. Narcissisitic much ya' evil twunt?

 

[Beautiful Disaster]

and i noticed that after supposedly being violent sick she raised her head and boy my mouth never looked that clean after being sick ... she didn't wipe her mouth or anything just sort of turn a bit to say sorry ... then bent down even lower was it so she wouldn't make that mistake again ????? i think that "being sick" was a show so she wouldn't have to answer anything about how he looked when she "gave him a warm bath"... that was one lie that bit her in the butt big time ...

I've never vomited as quietly as she did. I'm not a graceful puker at all though

 

[Sugar Cookie]

@BuffettGirl

I guess in her sick mind she felt that she was justified in how she treated him due to diminished capacity.

It is sad that these "parents" are able to treat their children less than human and feel they are the victims when held accountable for it.

Honestly it is not that hard to surrender your kid, you might not want the court case against you but at least you won;t end up in prison for abusing or killing them.

 

[BuffettGirl]

I've never vomited as quietly as she did. I'm not a graceful puker at all though

I am, but only because EVERYTHING makes me puke...

 

[Sugar Cookie]

After testifying in his mom’s murder trial, a 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse in his brother’s starvation death.

Paul Ferguson entered the plea Thursday, Dec. 21, in Muskegon County Circuit Court. He is to be sentenced Jan. 29.

Brother pleads to child abuse after mom convicted in teen’s starvation death

Paul Ferguson pleaded guilty Thursday, Dec. 21 to first-degree child abuse in the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson

www.mlive.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A western Michigan woman convicted of murder and child abuse in the starvation death of a disabled 15-year-old son who weighed just 69 pounds was sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole Tuesday.

Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was sentenced to an additional 50 to 100 years in prison for first-degree child abuse.


"I've been trying now for this entire case to wrap my mind around how somebody could do something so horrific, not only to another human being but to their own child," Judge Matthew Kacel said. "... You intentionally and systematically tortured this child. Let's call it what it is: It's torture. You tortured this child."

Timothy Ferguson had some mental disabilities, prosecutors have said.

Nolan Ferguson, the victim's brother, testified "if I can't have my brother back" his mother "shouldn't have her freedom back."

Vander Ark declined to speak when given the chance and instead shook her head to indicate "no."

Vander Ark's attorney, Fred Johnson, said his client brought Timothy into her home while working as a single mother who was putting herself through school and the difficulties that came with it.

"This is a survivor. A person who pulled herself up by her bootstraps," Johnson said. "We're not looking at evil, we're looking at sick."

Michigan woman sentenced to life in prison in starvation death of 15-year-old son

A western Michigan woman convicted of murder and child abuse in the starvation death of a disabled 15-year-old son who weighed just 69 pounds has been sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[McDanel]

If you can find it on YouTube, the interview with the son, Paul Ferguson, is incredible. He was completely drawn into his mother's obsession. Here's part 1.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

He got hot sauce in his eyes- poor baby

@McDanel

Do you think he is organically like this or his mom's treatment of him caused his affect?



longer version with analysis.

 

[McDanel]

@Sugar Cookie , his movements/body language are really odd, more like a much younger person. He's under her video observation as much as Timothy. At the moment, I can't venture an opinion about who or what he is. He's still stuck in an alternate reality.

 

[cubby]

I watched the first video, he does sound and act very much like an immature 14yo. Tho in his defense living with his bitch of a mother I don't know how anyone could end up being "normal". He's different, whether that's just him or if it's because he was just scared of her and what she might do to him if he didn't comply with all the nastiness she wanted him to do to his brother.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

I watched the first video, he does sound and act very much like an immature 14yo. Tho in his defense living with his bitch of a mother I don't know how anyone could end up being "normal". He's different, whether that's just him or if it's because he was just scared of her and what she might do to him if he didn't comply with all the nastiness she wanted him to do to his brother.

I think he was looking for her approval but did get some pleasure out of dishing out the discipline to Timothy.

He needs to do prison time but how much is the question.

He may do well with the structure but not be safe around the other prisoners.

 

[McDanel]

I think his safest option was to identify with her desires, so instead of saying "she" he says "we", because the safe place was standing next to
"Mama". When the cop gets a little more challenging, I can almost see the wheels turning as he begins to recognize what torture he inflicted. Empathy wasn't an emotion he could afford to indulge in that house, and I can see the shock of it wash over him from time to time.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Paul Ferguson was sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison.

Ferguson pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse in December. He also testified against his mother, Shanda Vander Ark, during her trial last year.

Paul spoke during the hearing, saying that he would never feel better about what happened because Timothy was "still gone."

"I ask the judge for nothing more than mercy and fairness, to offer me compassion so I might learn from him," he said. "I only hope to better myself in the coming days and serve my time with what little honor I have left.”

Before issuing Paul's sentence, Judge Kacel said Paul appeared to be presenting a "careful, manipulative story" since the beginning of the trial, including during his testimony against his mother, where he repeatedly said he was following her orders.

"Mr. Ferguson, I think you are a product of your environment, but I don't believe you that you're sorry, I don't. I don't think you have empathy, I don't think you have any emotion whatsoever," Kacel said. "That's what really scares me. I think you're sorry that you're here. I think you're sorry you got caught."

He also addressed the argument that Paul was only following Vander Ark's instructions and was not to blame for Timothy's torture.

"I think you're just as bad, if not worse. If not worse.," Kacel said. "You could've gone to a neighbor and said, 'Hey, my mom's abusing him,' you could've grabbed him and got him out of there, you could've done any number of things to stop this. And you chose not to. Your own brother."

He expressed concerns that Paul would not get help during his time in prison and that he may present a danger to the public. He said the child abuse charge Paul faced does not take into consideration the "long, sustained torture" that Timothy experienced.

Man who followed his mother's orders to torture 15-year-old brother sentenced

Paul Ferguson addressed the court before the judge handed down his sentence. "I ask the judge for nothing more than mercy and fairness...," he said.

www.wzzm13.com

 

[onthehalfshell]

View attachment 106783

Man who followed his mother's orders to torture 15-year-old brother sentenced

Paul Ferguson addressed the court before the judge handed down his sentence. "I ask the judge for nothing more than mercy and fairness...," he said.

www.wzzm13.com

I just watched the 51 minute sentencing hearing.
The look on homie's face and the way he jerked his head up when the judge said 30 to 100 years was great. I watched that part a few times.