Ohio mother heads to prison for child's deadly Mountain Dew diet

US News

By Deirdre Bardolf

An Ohio mother whose 4-year-old diabetic daughter died after being fed a diet of mostly Mountain Dew was sentenced Friday to at least nine years in prison for the girl's death.

Tamara Banks pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March for the death of her daughter, Karmity Hoeb, who died in 2022 from a diabetes-related brain injury. Banks, 41, often gave the girl bottles containing formula mixed with neon green sugary soda, prosecutors say, long after she should have been weaned from the bottles.

Karmity died at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, just west of her home in Clermont County, from diabetic ketoacidosis, the Cincinnati Inquirer reported.

The toddler had been showing signs of a “serious medical problem” for days, but her mother didn't call 911 until she turned blue and stopped breathing, the outlet reported. Tests later showed the girl was brain dead, prosecutors said.

Karmity suffered neglect and abuse for most of his short life and was denied adequate nutrition and medical care, prosecutors also charged. There was no evidence that she had ever been taken to a dentist, they discovered, and the girl's teeth were all rotten at the time of her death.

A 20-ounce bottle of Mountain Dew contains 77 grams of sugar. Experts say children should consume less than 24 grams per day.

“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered,” said Clermont County Deputy Prosecutor Clay Tharp. “This child didn’t have to die.”

Karmity, nicknamed “Boogie” because of her silly personality, was remembered as a smart and vibrant little girl, according to an obituary. “She knew how beautiful and special she was…The camera loved her almost as much as it loved smiling really big and saying cheese.”

“Every day she woke up full of joy and love,” we continue.

Banks had a son who fell into a coma at age 4 due to undiagnosed diabetes, prosecutors noted. Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Victor Haddad said his condition should have taught him the dangers of diabetes before his daughter's tragic death, the Inquirer reported.

“It's hard to be a good parent, but you expect parents to be at least mediocre,” Haddad said during Friday's hearing. “Not knowing what to do is no excuse.”

“I thought I was taking care of her,” Banks, who was photographed in court in a wheelchair, said Friday.

Despite her children's suffering, Banks regularly refilled her own prescriptions and even had doctors visit her at home for her medical needs, prosecutors found.

She faces up to 13 and a half years in prison.

Karmity's father, Christopher Hoeb, 53, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He will be sentenced in June.