Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was found guilty last month in the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson, who weighed just 69 pounds when he was found dead in July 2022 in the glorified closet she forced him to sleep in, wrapped only in a tarp. (Image: courttv.com)
An Oklahoma boy suffered harrowing abuse, including being starved and left in freezing baths for lengthy periods by his own mother, revealing severe failures in the child protection system.
Timothy Ferguson, a 15 year old with special needs, endured a nightmare of torment by his mother, Shanda Vander Ark, and his elder brother, Paul Ferguson, which included cruel punishments such as eating bread soaked in hot sauce and enduring ice-cold baths for extended periods.
The teenager met a tragic end in a cramped basement closet on July 6, 2022. His final, agonising moments were marked by his mother’s contemptuous calling him “pathetic”.
An autopsy found malnutrition and hypothermia as the causes of death, with the medical examiner labelling it a homicide.
As he faces sentencing, a man pleads for leniency after aiding his mother in the torture and starvation of his disabled brother, leading to the latter’s death, reports the Mirror US.
Timothy Ferguson (left) pictured with his older brother Paul Ferguson (Image: TIKTOK)
When confronted with images of her severely undernourished son in court, a murderous mother is overcome with nausea; she was responsible for starving the young boy to death.
The boy’s lawyer, Fred Johnson, argued that she didn’t mean to kill him and suggested that “something broke” in her mentally. He added that her co-defendant son didn’t comprehend the harm they were inflicting on the victim until it was too late.
However, earlier this year, Judge Matthew R. Kacel detailed the catalogue of abuse Timothy endured – including sleep deprivation, ice baths, being forced to vomit food, eating bread with hot sauce, having Tabasco put in his mouth, strict time limits for using the toilet, sleeping in a closet, being made to do wall sits and constant surveillance.
Judge Kacel stated that the mother “knew exactly” what she was doing as she took measures to ensure others didn’t notice what was happening to her child. The judge said the murderous mum hid the teenager from his grandparents and shut the garage doors when she had Timothy tidy the area without trousers.
Timothy’s death has highlighted gaps in the child protection system. It was revealed that during his lifetime, child protective services staff visited the Ferguson family home nine times.
Paul Ferguson, Timothy’s older brother, was also charged with child abusesharna ark (Image: FOX 17)
On 1 February 2008, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services launched an investigation into both parents, focusing on Timothy, who was then 18 months old, based on allegations of insufficient nutrition and medical neglect.
The parents refuted the accusations, yet one caseworker observed that the child appeared malnourished and underweight. Consequently, social workers recommended early intervention support for families with toddlers who have developmental challenges and a safety plan was enforced, requiring parental compliance with medical advice.
Despite ongoing scrutiny, the case was eventually dismissed and the family stayed together. Subsequent checks mostly yielded unfounded concerns, but in 2009, due to severe neglect including animal and human waste on the floors, the authorities extracted the children from the home over alarming safety issues.
At this juncture, young Timothy was merely three years old.
For two years the siblings were placed in foster care while their parents – identified as Eric and Shanda – attempted to resolve their parenting inadequacies. After the couple split up, the children’s father undertook counselling and parenting programmes to regain custody.
In contrast, their mother ceased cooperating, telling a social worker she had “worked through everything she was willing to.”
Ultimately, the court awarded sole custody to the dad and granted the mum supervised visits. Post-divorce, she remarried and relocated to Michigan, leaving behind her kids in Oklahoma.
Later, Timothy moved in with his mother in Norton Shores, Muskegon County, Michigan; within one year of this change, he faced an untimely and tragic death.
Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was found guilty last month in the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson, who weighed just 69 pounds when he was found dead in July 2022 in the glorified closet she forced him to sleep in, wrapped only in a tarp. (Image: Muskegon County Circuit Court)
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Timothy’s elder sister, Millie Ferguson, speaking with Michigan Live, shared how her little brother was cherished despite his mothers treatment. She distanced herself from Shanda and Eric, referring to them simply as “the parents” rather than using the terms ‘mom’ and ‘dad’.
Declaring her stance, she stated: “I haven’t referred to her as my mother since I was 14 or 15 years old. She hasn’t really been a big part of my life and I prefer to call someone lovingly by the name of ‘mother’ when they’ve earned that title.”
Following a harrowing trial, Vander Ark faced justice being found culpable for Timothys death, after he died weighing a mere 69 pounds, leading to a sentence of life behind bars with no parole opportunity. Her son, aged 22, begged the court for leniency about a month later, only to receive a minimum 30-year prison term.
