Ohio mother convicted of Mountain Dew murder of diabetic daughter

A 41-year-old Ohio mother who primarily bottle-fed her daughter Mountain Dew until her teeth rotted away was sentenced Friday to nine to 13 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter.

Tamara Banks was charged with murder, manslaughter and child endangerment, but the murder and child endangerment charges were dropped when she pleaded guilty to manslaughter, according to FOX 19.

The girl's father, Christopher Hoeb, 53, faces the same charges and also pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He will be sentenced next month.

“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered,” Clermont County Deputy District Attorney Clay Tharp told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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The 4-year-old, whose diabetes went undiagnosed for years, was found unresponsive in January 2022, Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in a news release at the time.

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The girl was taken to the hospital where she was declared brain dead and was eventually taken off life support, FOX 19 reported.

The cause of his death was ruled to be diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication of diabetes in which acid levels in a person's blood are life-threatening, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The girl's diet consisted mainly of Mountain Dew, prosecutors said. (Rey Lopez for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“Due to neglect and abuse at the hands of his parents, KH suffered for most of his short life,” Tekulve said, adding that his diabetes “was left undiagnosed and untreated for a long time “.

Banks' oldest son Jerry told FOX 19 in March that he never met his little sister because she was kept away from him, but he remembers his younger brother suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis years before and had to force his mother, who he said had fainted, to take him to the hospital.

Banks remained incarcerated at the Clermont County Jail as of Saturday evening, according to the jail's website. Clermont County is east of Cincinnati. (Clermont County Sheriff's Office)

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“One day he became lethargic and wouldn't move and the only thing he responded to was sugar and for 36 hours she [Tamara Banks] passed out in the back room,” Jerry Banks told the station. “I had to wake her up and force her to take him to the hospital and that's when he turned out he was in DKA; The same thing that happened to [K.H.]. Doctors detected it in time to save him. »

Banks remained incarcerated at the Clermont County Jail as of Saturday evening, according to the jail's website. Clermont County is east of Cincinnati.