A social media influencer has been accused of poisoning and torturing her baby in a bid to get donations from fans.
The 34-year-old woman was arrested in Logan, near Brisbane, Australia on Thursday and charged with administering poison with intent to harm, making child exploitation material and fraud. Police said the young girl would have become “gravely ill” and could have died if she had stayed in her mum’s care. They confirmed the child was now doing “well”. The woman had allegedly been posting content showing her daughter in pain from a purported ‘terminal illness’ on social media – but detectives claim this was a result of her being drugged.
Footage has now been shared by police showing the moment she was arrested. In the clip, the woman is seen outside a house surrounded by uniformed officers. She holds her hands up to her face after being told of her arrest before being led away in handcuffs.
Doctors first raised the alarm in October after the baby was rushed to hospital after suffering a serious medical episode. Police said the mum had disregarded medical advice given to her and obtained “unauthorised medicines” , including old prescriptions intended for someone else. After giving this to her child between August and October, the woman is then said to have taken photos and videos of her in “immense pain and distress” to “entice monetary donations and online followers”.
The mum is alleged to have set up a GoFundMe page, which raised around $60,000 AUD (£30,500). Detective Inspector Dalton from Queensland Police said: “We’ve been dealing with GoFundMe and I understand through my investigators that they are making attempts to repay that money to the people… who donated that money.”
The detective confirmed that the girl has originally been prescribed treatment for “genuine, serious health reason”, but that hospital staff had grown suspicious after her hospital admission in October. The mum was arrested a few days later, a tests for unauthorised medicines came back positive this month.
The woman will appear Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday. Detective Inspector Dalton said: “I think it’s important to note that the hospital staff must be extremely distressed and anxious about what happened here, and they’ve done nothing wrong at all. We’ll be alleging the person has done what she’s done in defiance of medical opinion.”
A GoFundMe spokesperson told Australian national broadcaster ABC that they had been in “close contact” with police during the investigation, adding: “Proactive refunds are being issued to all donors as part of our ongoing commitment to protecting Australian generosity.”
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