An Australian mother has been charged with poisoning her one-year-old baby girl and posting a video of the infant's distress to get GoFundMe donations online, police and local media informed on Thursday, January 16. The 34-year-old woman allegedly went to "great lengths" to conceal that she was giving prescription and pharmacy drugs to the baby without medical approval, Queensland detective inspector Paul Dalton told reporters, stated AFP.
Further giving more details, Dalton said the hospital staff in the Queensland capital, Brisbane, alerted police to their suspicions in October last year when the girl was there for treatment of a serious mental condition. Following this, police took "immediate action" to protect the baby and launched an investigation, he added.
The woman from Queensland's Sunshine Coast was widely reported in local media to be the baby's mother, though police would not officially confirm this. She was accused of filming and posting images of the baby's "immense distress and pain" between August and October last year to elicit financial donations from online followers, Dalton disclosed.
According to police, testing for unauthorised medicines allegedly returned a positive result this month. She was charged with 11 offences on Thursday, January 16. "There are no words to describe just how repulsive offences of this nature are," Dalton said. "There is no excuse for hurting a child, particularly one so young that is totally dependent on adults to care and love for them," he stressed.
Moreover, Dalton said the woman was accused of raising just over Aus $60,000 (US$37,000) via GoFundMe, which was working to return the money to donors. She is scheduled to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court today, January 17.
