A Michigan law clerk vomited in court after she was showed horrifying pictures of her emaciated disabled son who she starved to death.
Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was on trial for the murder and torture of Timothy Ferguson, 15, who died at their home on July 6, 2022 weighing just 69 pounds. An autopsy found he died from malnourishment and hypothermia.
Prosecutor Matt Roberts showed pictures of the teenager's frail body to Vander Ark in court on Thursday afternoon and she began to throw up.
She tortured Timothy, who had autism with speech and motor impairment, by feeding him only bread covered in hot sauce, deprived him of sleep and forced him into ice baths as punishment.
Vander Ark did not turn up to the trial on Friday due to a 'medical issue' but a jury found her guilty of first degree murder and first degree child abuse in her absence. She is due to be sentenced on January 29 and faces life in prison.
Michigan law clerk Shanda Vander Ark, 44, vomited in court after she was showed horrifying pictures of her emaciated disabled son who she starved to death
She was on trial for the murder and torture of Timothy Ferguson, 15, who died at their home on July 6, 2022 weighing just 69 pounds. A jury found her guilty of first degree murder and first degree child abuse
Vander Ark is said to have covered the house and the tiny closet Timothy was sleeping in with motion sensors, alarms, and live feed cameras
Vander Ark tortured him by feeding him only bread covered in hot sauce, deprived him of sleep and forced him into ice baths as punishment
Vander Ark took the witness stand on Thursday and began hyperventilating and showing signs of a mental breakdown.
Prosecutor Roberts handed her pictures of Timothy's emaciated body and asked: 'Did he look like that when you put him the bathtub?
She immediately began retching, before vomiting out of view of the jury. She then apologized to court, asked for a moment and started to cry.
The next day, Vander Ark, who has five biological children including a nine-year-old boy, was found guilty of torturing and murdering Timothy.
Timothy's older brother Paul, 20, has also been charged with first degree child abuse, but testified against their mother in court.
'I'd say it's something close to Stockholm Syndrome,' Paul said on the stand.
'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.
She claimed she locked up the family's fridge, freezer and pantry because Timothy tried to eat frozen food and uncooked meat
Vander Ark took the witness stand on Thursday and began hyperventilating and showing signs of a mental breakdown
Timothy's older brother Paul, 20, has also been charged with first degree child abuse but he testified against their mother in court
The property where Timothy was starved and tortured
'That's not an excuse, I know, but I feel like I'm glad I was at least able to realize it, so I could correct it.'
Vander Ark, who was a law clerk at Newaygo County Circuit Court, previously testified she had purchased spicy hot sauce online after Paul thought it would be a good idea to punish Timothy.
A text message exchange between the pair also showed her questioning whether they should drop the hot sauce on the young boy's genitals.
'I wonder how it would feel to have that hot sauce on your private parts. I'm not saying touch him there, not at all, but dripping a little bit there, is that horrible,' she asked.
Her lawyer argued she did not understand the harm she was causing her son and did not know he was starving.
She also claimed she locked up the family's fridge, freezer and pantry because Timothy tried to eat frozen food and uncooked meat.
Vander Ark is said to have covered the house and the tiny closet Timothy was sleeping in with motion sensors, alarms, and live feed cameras.
Prosecutor Roberts said she tortured the child by feeding him hot sauce and punishing him with ice baths. 'She killed him. She starved him to death,' he said.
Vander Ark did not legally have custody of Timothy, according to authorities and he had been in West Michigan since May 2021.
Prosecutor Roberts said she should not have had the child to begin with and that an investigation by the Oklahoma Child Protective Services between 2009 and 2012 resulted in a recommendation to terminate her parental rights.
Vander Ark agreed to relinquish custody in 2012 to avoid a permanent severing of parental rights.
Court document show Timothy, Paul, Nolan, 23, and daughter Millie, 19, were granted to their father Eric Ferguson and she was ordered to pay child support.
Vander Ark got remarried to Adam and was living with him at the property until he suffered a stroke and had to move in with his parents.
She claimed this was a catalyst for Timothy acting out. 'There was a couple situations when Tim actually intentionally kept everyone in the house awake,' she said in court.
'He would intentionally set off the motion detectors, he would make noise.'
Hours before Timothy died, Paul allegedly put him in an ice bath for nearly nine hours.
Paul told the jury that he had abused his brother at his mother's instruction.
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