Mom Accused Of Harming Infant Son Sentenced To 5-20 Years
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local mother accused of rubbing feces on her infant son's sleeping pad to make him sick was back in court Tuesday afternoon.
Lauren Buzard, 38, was sentenced to five to 20 years in prison. She's been in the Allegheny County Jail since last year.
She was arrested in August of 2013 after police say she was caught tampering with her 6-month-old son's feeding tube and IV line and rubbing fecal matter where he slept at Children's Hospital.
Hospital employees had become suspicious after Buzard continued to bring in her son for mysterious illnesses.
During her sentencing, Buzard told the judge, "I want to get mentally healthy so they can have a healthy life. I am remorseful. My greatest goal is to get help and live with my children and be safe."
Judge Donna Jo McDaniel told Buzard her baby could have died due to medical complications.
Buzard's father and stepmother said that she needs help, not time, and felt disappointed in the sentencing.
Earlier this year, police say Buzard failed to show up for her trial on charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.
Police say one of the stipulations of her bond was that Buzard was not allowed to have contact with her son. But police say they got a tip that Buzard had moved into the house where the baby was living – with his father and grandmother – on the South Side.
Police then went to the house and say they saw Buzard looking down from a second-story window. Once inside, they found her hiding under a pile of boxes.
She was taken to jail.
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