Crown Loses Appeal Against Mum Who Poisoned Her Daughter While in Hospital

The Crown has lost an appeal against a mother who poisoned her daughter, who suffered cerebral palsy and epilepsy, through her feeding tube during some of her visits to hospital.

The mother, known as RMW, drugged her then seven-year-old daughter, KW, with sedative chloral hydrate at John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, in 2013.

The Crown lost the appeal on Wednesday after the mother was handed intensive correction orders to be served in the community following a guilty plea.

KW had suffered 12 unexplained life-threatening coma episodes and was admitted to the hospital 44 times, 35 of which were unplanned or emergency visits. Doctors were concerned that RMW was inducing illness by drugging KW with medication.

Police then installed surveillance cameras and an incident in July 2013 led to RMW’s arrest.

Court documents said that ‘KW was calmly sitting in her bed reading a book’ when ‘the offender then commenced feeding KW through her feeding tube.’

The documents stated that ‘The OIC [officer in charge] observed the offender pour an unmeasured quantity of liquid directly from a bottle into KW’s PEG tube.

The Crown challenged RMW’s sentence at the Court of Criminal Appeal on concerns it was manifestly inadequate. It said that RMW had been previously warned about the dangers of the drug and jeopardised the health and wellbeing of KW to keep her in hospital for her own benefit.

RMW’s lawyers said she has since undergone regular counselling and found a job.

The NSW Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal, concluding that jail would do more harm than good.

“Evidence before this court makes it clear that the respondent has made a good degree of progress in her rehabilitation since the sentences were imposed. Even more significantly, there is evidence that although the respondent’s children have been removed from her care, she has been able to re-establish, at least to some degree, her relationship with each of them,” the court stated.

The girl had suffered brain damage at birth at Gosford Hospital and suffered epilepsy and cerebral palsy, the court heard.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and Abc.net.au