Michigan woman, Shanda Vander Ark, who constantly t****** and starved her 15-year-old to death because, "he snuck food" is sentenced to life in prison plus 50-100 years for child abuse on Tuesday. I have been watching this case and waiting to write on it until she was sentenced.
Warning- this is the most shocking case of child abuse I have ever heard about happening.
Timothy Ferguson was a 15-year-old boy that had some behavior issues. Instead of getting Timothy the help he required, Timothy was t******* until his death.
For the last several months of his life he was only allowed to eat one slice of bread with "Extreme Regret" hot sauce slathered on top of it. He was only allowed one slice a week. He was occasionally allowed two slices. Timothy's tongue lost all of its taste buds so he would just eat the bread to survive. Unfortunately when the hot sauce hit his digestive system the food would come back up. When his mother realized it no longer hurt him in the mouth area to eat the hot sauce, she would have her 20 year old son Paul put the hot sauce on her 15 year old's genitals. Timothy was forced to lay in ice baths when he wasn't chained in the basement closet, where he had to use the restroom all over himself because he was too weak to move. Timothy couldn't even speak ....he was so weak.
Timothy Ferguson had one of the worst lives a human could possibly have and I would like everyone to honor his memory by simply remembering his name. He mattered and he was a human being. He was an innocent child.
As Timothy laid in the basement closet floor on a tarp dying for months, his mother would become angry with him and believe he was "fake dying" so she would have her 20-year-old son Paul hold a pizza roll in Timothy's face, if Timothy reached out for it, he was put in an ice bath and beaten.
Timothy succumbed to his horrible treatment sometime in the early morning hours of July 6, of 2022. I can only imagine, in a way, it was a relief for him to finally pass away. His mother told cops at the scene of the crime that she was "strict but she had no idea her son only weighed 69 pounds at 5 ft 9 in tall." She told the officers on scene that her son was on a hunger strike but the police, and first responders could tell that was not true. She even tried to claim he wore baggy clothes to hide it. Police noticed that the individual found deceased in the basement wouldn't even have the energy to put clothing on.
Timothy should have weighed 150 pounds. Please keep in mind, he only weighed a mere 69 pounds. That is how much a 7-year-old should weigh, not a 15 year old. Police said he was skeletal, beyond malnourished. The lead detective said Timothy looked like he should be in a casket or a biology class as a skeleton. It was that bad.
In 2022 his mother, Shanda Vander Ark, 44 years old, decided she was going to handcuff him in a closet in the basement so he would act better, according to her 20 year old son, Paul Ferguson. Police officers found numerous cameras recording every move Timothy made. Shanda Vander Ark worked at a law office and her employer stated she became obsessed with watching the monitors. If she saw Timothy even moving an inch she would text her son Paul and tell him he needed to punish his brother.
Paul, who suffers from many of the same disorders his brother Timothy suffered from, said to police officers that he followed his mother's instructions because, "his mother was incredibly smart and he felt she knew what was the right thing to do in this situation." Paul said he hoped his brother would be allowed to eat and live again. He told the lead detective that he promised his brother he would take care of them after they left their father's house to live with their mother. He wept as he expressed that he failed Timothy.
In fact, 24 hours before Timothy died, Paul sent a picture of Timothy to his mother. Paul wrote, "Mama, he looks like a skeleton we need to feed him more." He then took a picture of his brothers unfathomably thin legs and said, "no wonder he can't walk, look at how bad his legs are." How did Shanda react? She told Paul to put his "faking" 15 year old brother in an ice bath for 4 hours.
In a heartbreaking interrogation Paul admitted that his brother Timothy could not move or speak but he did not want to go in the ice bath. Paul did it anyway. The only resistance Timothy could give was slightly moving in his brother's arms. If their mother saw Timothy move at all he suffered great consequences.
Paul is charged with first degree child abuse and will be sentenced this Monday. He did testify against his mother. In the interrogation videos it is very clear that police officers can see Paul is completely brainwashed by his mother. However, Paul's messages do show that he knew his brother was dying. Paul snuck a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to Timothy shortly before he died. Paul was scared to even tell the lead detective that because he felt his mother would be angry with him.
Shanda Vander Ark was sentenced Tuesday for the death of her son and for child abuse. She will never see the light of day again. She received a life sentence plus 50 to 100 additional years for the extreme child abuse. Judge Matthew Kacel admonished Vander Ark several times during the sentencing.
At one point the judge emotionally said, "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. You intentionally and systematically t******* this child let's call it what it is: it's t******. You t******* this child.... This wasn't punishment. You weren't trying to curb his behavior. You t******* him!"
Vander Ark's attorney defended her saying that she wasn't evil, she was a single mom doing her best. She was simply sick.
Paul pled guilty to first-degree child abuse and has expressed nothing but remorse. During his interrogation you can see the point when the detective actually broke through to him and made him realize he was being used and controlled by his mother.
2 minutes after looking at pictures of his deceased and starved brother, Paul did ask for a snack during the interrogation. The juxtaposition was shocking.
When Shanda Vander Ark was arrested she was worried about not being able to eat. You read that right, she was worried she wouldn't be able to keep food down. She and Paul both claimed they were hypoglycemic. I am sure they never worried if Timothy was also hypoglycemic.
During her trial she tried to blame everything on her son Paul at points, however all of the messages and recordings showed a 20-year-old boy on the spectrum being controlled by his mother. Paul also needed professional medical care for his disabilities but his mother never allowed that. In fact, she used his disabilities to her advantage. She forced Paul to work and pay for the hot sauce and other items. Paul was so delusional he thought it was kind his mother asked instead of taking his money.
When Vander Ark was shown photos of her deceased son in the closet, during the trial, she allegedly got sick. I personally think it was an act. I have reached out to the penitentiary she is being placed in and asked for an interview with Vander Ark.
How do you feel about this case? Paul Ferguson is facing life in prison for his part in this case. Do you feel that is fair?
I will update Monday with what his sentencing is as he has already pled guilty.
Pictured below- Timothy before the starvation on the left. Paul is on the right.
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